


A Sinner Among Sins

by DemGiggles



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Just a little angst, Kazzy can't even, Multi, Romance, Sexy Times, Slow Burn, actual goblin mc, charlie pls, fighty mc, innocent bun, kiss all the boys, too old for this shit, we gettin' poly in here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:34:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 56,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22647250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemGiggles/pseuds/DemGiggles
Summary: Charlie is a 27 year old woman working at a dead end job. Don't get her wrong, she's not miserable. She just always hoped for more out of life. Well, be careful what you wish for.Suddenly thrust into the student exchange program - and eternally baffled by how a grown woman even qualified - she must now navigate her new life as a student of RAD, surrounded on all sides by demons. But as all of Devildom is about to learn: this human is far more than they bargained for.WARNING: This work contains graphic language, depictions of violence, sensitive topics, and depictions of sex. Reader discretion is advised. Please check chapter notes for specific trigger warnings.
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 156
Kudos: 268





	1. Into the Devildom

Charlie sighed softly and looked down at the clock on her computer. She still had three hours left in her shift and the last of the day crew had just left. She was the only person left in the small office building and the quiet was maddening. Still, it was better than the obnoxious tone of her headset – killing her soul with the indication of another person who was less qualified and higher paid than she was. Don’t get her wrong, Charlie liked her job. She enjoyed being able to help people and the hours were ridiculously flexible. Her boss was super cool as well. Still, she thought as her eyelids began to flutter with the weight of sleep, this wasn’t what she had expected her life to be.

_“…elp me…”_

_“Help me, please.”_

Charlie’s eyes shot open and she looked around. This… wasn’t her office. The room was large and ornate with extremely gothic décor. A line of thrones and pennants stood across from her. Charlie blinked. She had always had a firm grasp on the difference between reality and dreams, and she had never suffered from hallucinations before. 

So… where was she?

Upon asking herself this question, Charlie suddenly realized that she wasn’t alone in this room. In fact, as she began to collect her thoughts and rose from her seat on the ground, she noticed that there were several men in this room. All of them were looking at her. Before she could begin taking mental inventory of the strangers, a tall man in a striking red suit stepped forward and smiled.

“Welcome to the Devildom, Charlie…” He frowned softly as Charlie gaped at him. What did he say now?

After a brief pause, he continued, “Oh, pardon me. Feeling a bit shocked, are we?” The question was obviously rhetorical as he continued,

“Well, that’s understandable. You’ve only just arrived, after all. As a human, it will probably take a little while for you to adjust to things here in the Devildom”

Human? Devildom? Adjust?

Charlie’s head was spinning with questions. As she looked up into the pale golden eyes of the man before her, she managed to stutter out,“Th-the Devildom…?”

His smile returned quickly, “Yes, exactly, the Devildom. I see that you catch on quickly. Excellent”

Charlie blinked up at him, reminded of the time she was hit in the face with a football and told that it counted as a 5-yard pass completion.

The man continued, “I suppose I should start by introducing myself. My name is Diavolo.”

_Did he just say Diablo? Wait, is he the devil?! AM I IN HELL?!_

Charlie wasn’t sure if her face was betraying her internal panic, but he didn’t seem bothered as he continued his introduction, “I am the ruler of all demons, and all here know of me. And someday soon, I will be crowned king of the Devildom.”

He waved his arm to his right. Charlie looked out to see a beautiful city around a castle straight out of a fairy tale. Her breath caught in her throat at the beauty of the night-shrouded landscape. She was so busy imagining wandering through the dark streets and in the hall of the castle that it took her a moment to process what he had just said.

“This is the Royal Academy of Diavolo, though we just call it RAD. You’re standing inside the assembly hall, the very heart of RAD. This is where we officers of the student council hold our meetings and conduct our business.” His expression turned serious as he added, “I’m the president of said council.”

Charlie looked back at him. This was a school? Why was she in a school? She was 27 years old and had a bachelors degree. But then again, looking at this man, he looked to be about her age, maybe a bit younger but not by much. But if he _was_ the devil then wouldn’t that mean he was super old? And for that matter, she thought the devil _was_ the king of demons so why-

Charlie placed a hand to the bridge of her nose to stave off the sharp headache that was making itself more than apparent. She took a deep breath and managed to say,“Why… am I here?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the most beautiful man she had ever seen stepped forward, his voice deep and smooth as black velvet with the slightest British accent as he replied, “I will explain everything to you.”

Diavolo spoke again as Charlie tried to recover from the heat she felt rising in her face at the appearance of such an attractive man,“Charlie, this is Lucifer. He is a demon and the Avatar of Pride”

_Damn, I’d be proud too if I looked_ **_that_ ** _good._

Charlie’s eyes flitted over the man’s silky black hair that fell perfectly around his face, drawing attention straight to his cold red eyes. His every feature was sharp and precise. He looked like the crack of a whip sounded - startling, dangerous, and oddly satisfying.

The introduction continued as Charlie tore her eyes away from tall, dark, and demonic and focused back on the red prince,“He’s also the vice president of the student council and my right-hand man… and not just in title, I assure you. Beyond that,” Diavolo laughed, “He’s also my most trusted friend.”

Lucifer frowned and quipped, “Flattery will get you nowhere, Diavolo.”

He turned his gaze to Charlie and took a step forward, smiling cordially, “Speaking on behalf of the entire student body at this great and storied school of ours, I offer you a most heartfelt welcome, Charlie.”

Charlie felt her face heating up again as she stared up at his face. Her thoughts were shooting through her head like bullet trains.

_Storied school? How old is this place? How old are these guys?! Seriously, why am I here? I’m a grown ass woman. I pay bills. Wait, his name is Lucifer- Isn’t the other guy the devil. Wait was Lucifer the devil? Was that Satan? Is there a different Satan? I mean Lucifer’s a fallen angel, right? Is that why he’s so pretty? I need a nap. Wait he said students-_

She followed the last thread back to his previous statement, “On behalf of the students?”

The corners of Lucifer’s mouth dropped into a neutral expression – almost bored, “Diavolo believes that we demons should start strengthening our relationship with both the human world and the Celestial Realm. As a first step towards this goal, we’ve decided to institute an exchange program.”

His mouth twisted back upward as he continued, “We’ve sent two of our students to the human world and two to the celestial realm and we’re welcoming four students to our school: two from your world, and two from the celestial realm.”He frowned, the bored expression returning to his features. “So I take it you’ve probably put two and two together at this point, right? **You’ve** been chosen from among the people of the human world to participate in this program of ours. **You are our newest exchange student** ”

Charlie reached up and ran a hand through her short hair, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

Lucifer continued,“Your period of stay is one year. You will have to work on the tasks that you will receive from RAD. After one year, you will write a paper about your exchange here in Devildom.”

Charlie blinked, stupefied. “Write a paper?!”

She hadn’t written a paper in over three years!

Lucifer crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, a look of controlled annoyance crossing his face. “I am not telling you to write a doctoral thesis. You can take it easy.”

His annoyance was replaced by an amused smirk as he caught Charlie’s expression.

“Don’t glare at me like that. It’s not like I will abandon you all by yourself here in the Devildom. You need someone to look after you, and I think that someone should be my brother Mammon. He’s the Avatar of Greed and… how should I put it…? Oh well, you’ll understand soon enough.”

He pulled what appeared to be a smartphone from his pocket and held it out to Charlie.

“Here, take this device. It’s called a D.D.D. It’s a lot like the cell phones of your world. This will be yours to use for as long as you’re here. Now, go ahead and try calling Mammon with it.”

Charlie took the device and unlocked it, finding a contact pre-programmed in. She clicked on the name and the phone began to dial out,“Yoooo.”

The voice sounded sleepy. She chuckled softly as she returned,“Yoooo.”

“Are ya foolin’ around? Who the hell are ya?”

He sounded so bratty, she couldn’t help but grin as she replied,“I’m a human”

“Whaaa? A human? Geez, I was getting’ all chilly here thinkin’ it was Lucifer again. Ya should’ve told me right away.”

Charlie bit her bottom lip as he continued,“So, what business does a human got with THE Mammon?”

Oh no, he sounded adorable.

“Let’s be friends!”

She blurted it out without even thinking.

“Eh… what’re ya even sayin’…?”

_OH LORD HELP ME, HE DUMB_

“AAH! I get it now, you’re the other human – the new exchange student!”

_Yes, you bratty dumb boy._

“G’luck with that, and see ya.”

Charlie opened her mouth to yell when Lucifer murmured softly behind her,“Tell him to come here.”

Charlie nodded and spoke into the phone,“Lucifer called for you.”

“Pfft, whatever. Ya think THE Mammon would listen to ya just cause you’re tryin’ to scare me with that name?”

Lucifer leaned down next to Charlie and she froze up as he stated into the mouthpiece of the phone,“You’ve got 10 seconds…..9….8…”

Mammon practically yelled into the phone “YESSIR” and immediately hung up.

Charlie turned her face as Lucifer stood upright again, trying to return her face to a normal human color. She was too old to be acting this way over some guys. She peeked up at Lucifer for a second,

_Well, to be fair, he’s not really just SOME GUY… is he?_

He turned to face her, that smile back on his face,

“Sounds like you had a nice chat.”

Charlie chuckled and was unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice as she replied,

“He seems reliable”

Lucifer scowled, seeming to have missed her tone,

“… You really think so?”

Diavolo joined back into the conversation,

“Well, if you were suddenly brought to a strange place and then get told than an unfamiliar face will now take care of you, you’d certainly feel anxious.”

He turned his attention to Charlie, “However, Mammon isn’t the only one to help you out”

He chuckled, “Now then… we still need to introduce our new friend to your brothers, Lucifer. And it’s probably better that you do it instead of me, wouldn’t you say?”

Lucifer let out a long, labored sigh, “Yes… As much as I **dread** the idea of doing so, you’re right.”

A boy with peach blonde hair – almost as painfully beautiful as Lucifer – piped up with a giggle,

“Oh, come now. **Really?** You should be honored that you get to introduce such a **sweet** and **charming** little brother like me”

Lucifer let out another sigh and stated in an exhausted tone,

“This one here is Asmodeus. He’s the fifth eldest. He is the Avatar of Lust.”

Asmodeus’s lovely face scrunched up into a pout,

“Wh- I can’t believe you just totally ignored what I said! And not only that, you referred to me as **this one.** How rude!”

Charlie looked over Asmodeus’s features in comparison to Lucifer’s. Everything about this man was soft and dangerous. From the waves of his peach colored hair to his honey eyes framed by long dark lashes – a dangerous glimmer in them as they fluttered. Charlie noticed how abnormally smooth and soft his skin looked – as if he was airbrushed to perfection. Even the pitch of his voice - with its ever so slight Spanish intonations - was dripping with saccharine edged with something dangerous. Everything about this man conjured the image of peach flavored cotton candy laced with cyanide.

Charlies was snatched from her ruminations on the avatar of lust by a Scottish brogue,

“Hpmh. At least he didn’t ignore you altogether. How do you think **I** feel?”

Charlie turned to see a man with golden blonde hair and stunning emerald eyes had approached the gathering,

“That one there is Satan, the fourth eldest of us,”

_Holy shit! I’m meeting_ **_THE_ ** _Satan right now. What is my LIFE?!_

“At first glance, he may seem like a responsible demon with a good head on his shoulders,” 

Charlie eyed the blonde with a raised eyebrow. His mess of blonde hair and his expression of casual annoyance indicated otherwise, but who was she to argue? It was probably the bow tie. Humans saw bow ties as a mark of someone who is very responsible. Maybe demons did too.

“But looks can be deceiving.”

Charlie flitted her eyes between Lucifer and Satan for a moment. Satan was much shorter than the older demon. In fact, he was almost the same height as Charlie herself - give or take an inch. She wasn’t a small woman to begin with, however all of the other demons she had met so far nearly towered over her. This poor guy seemed to be the runt of the litter. In fact, all things considered, he seemed to barely be different from a typical human man. Sure, he was outstandingly good looking. His features were as sharp and defined as Lucifer’s, if a bit less perfectly so. He had a certain ruggedly bookish look to him. In fact, she could almost smell the scent of opening a new book when she looked at him.

“Aha, so I’m that one, am I?” he turned from scowling at Lucifer to offer Charlie a similarly cool smile as his brother had,

“Nice to meet you, Charlie. I am Satan, the Avatar of Wrath”

_Pretty self explanatory. Wouldn’t have expected the bow tie though._

Charlie looked between the three men standing before her. Each was beautiful individually, but looking between all of them standing together - she thanked whoever was responsible for this blessing in her head before stopping her gaze abruptly on the peach colored boy, “The Avatar of Lust?”

Asmodeus beamed at her sweetly, “That’s right! It pretty much sums up what I’m about!”

His smile dropped into a serious expression, his mouth forming a straight line and his eyes half-lidded. His voice matched his expression as the giddy lilt he had been speaking in dropped, “Including my power.”

Charlie felt ice in the pit of her stomach as he locked her in a predatory gaze, “Let’s give a little demonstration! Charlie, could you gaze into my eyes for a moment?”

The gentle smile returned to his lips and the lilt to his voice as he leaned down to eye level and reassured her, “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. Come on, don’t be shy…”

This only made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Adrenaline coursed through her instinctually at this unnamed threat. Still, curiosity had always been her vice and - lord help her - he was beyond beautiful.

Wordlessly, she moved her eyes to meet his honey orbs - predation glaring back at her from the depths. He stared back for a moment before a confused frown overtook his countenance. “...Hold on a second.” He stood and sighed “That’s weird. Lucifer, are you **sure** there is a soul inside this body?”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, a concerned frown forming. “Yes. Assuming Beel hasn’t devoured it already, that is.”

A deep rumbling southern drawl responded, “Nope, I haven’t eaten any souls… **yet**.”

Before Charlie could tear her eyes away from the unsettlingly concerned demons before her to identify the mystery voice, Satan addressed her - pulling her attention back to him. “I should probably warn you, Charlie: you’d best be wary of Asmodeus’s gaze. He can charm and manipulate people and use them to his own advantage.”

A scowl crossed his features as he continued, “If you’re not careful, he’ll charm you. And once you’re under his spell, **he’ll eat you**.”

Asmodeus returned the scowl and countered, “Hey, don’t go around saying things like that…”

Lucifer let out another weary sigh. “Are you done?”

Before either of the others were able to respond he continued “Now, the one there with the very grumpy look on his face is Beelzebub. He’s the sixth oldest.”

Charlie turned, her gaze met by a very muscular chest - obvious even through the layers of clothes covering it. She tilted her head back to find the grumpy expression Lucifer had referred to. A stark contrast to the brothers introduced before him, this man was a massive, rugged giant. His ginger hair was tousled and fell carelessly over his forehead. Deep purple eyes glared down at the eldest brother, seated in what Charlie could only describe as the most beautifully rugged and masculine face she had seen in her life. Her eyes trailed slowly down to his visible forearms - and then just a bit further down before bouncing back up to his face. 

The heat had returned to her face and she suddenly realized she’d been biting her lower lip.

_Good lord I want to climb him like a tree._

Charlie seemed to recover briefly from her lusting daze as the giant rumbled in the deep drawl from earlier, “Lucifer, I’m hungry”

Lucifer scowled in return “That’s too bad. Now behave yourself”

Beelzebub’s grumpy expression shifted into a pout and Charlie felt her face trying to catch on fire.

_Oh no. He’s cute too!_

Seeming not to notice that Charlie was under threat of spontaneous combustion, Beelzebub grumbled out, “I’m Beelzebub, the Avatar of Gluttony.”

Lucifer’s face returned to its neutral expression as he declared “So…” Charlie snapped back to reality, turning to face him again as he continued, “There are seven of us brothers in all, and I am the eldest.”

The cool smile found its way back to his lips - though it contained a hint of malice as he said, “Mammon, the second oldest of us, will be here soon.” 

He paused for a moment, his expression shifting to one of general displeasure. “My other brothers aren’t here at the moment, but… well, we can get to them later. All in good time.”

Diavolo, silent for the introductions, finally inserted himself back into the conversation. “During your stay in the Devildom, the seven brothers will lend you their strength. To keep you safe, you are to stay with them at the House of Lamentation.”

Charlie processed what the prince had said, keying in on one phrase in particular, “To keep me safe?” 

Lucifer smiled slyly, seeming to enjoy the concern in her voice. “Most agree with Diavolo, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t vulgar demons out there who wouldn’t harm you.” Charlie’s frown deepened as Lucifer added, “If anything were to happen to you, it would be our responsibility. And I won’t betray Diavolo’s expectations.”

Charlie squinted and cut her eyes between the two demons for a moment.

_Are… are they married? I think they’re married. They make a cute couple._

She returned from her thoughts to Lucifer as he continued, “So, I will do everything in my power to make sure you survive your stay down here in the Devildom.”

Charlie wasn’t sure she liked the concept of demons fighting over whether or not she lived but it didn’t seem like she had much of a choice in the matter. Judging from the serious expression on Lucifer’s face, her hopes that this was all some kind of elaborate prank were slim.

Lucifer nodded his head towards the device in Charlie’s hands “Although we will all be living together, you should still have the means to reach us at any given time. All of our phone numbers are already in there. And your D.D.D. also has a messaging app.” Charlie looked down at the device. She had forgotten entirely about it in the torrent of introductions. Lucifer added “Make sure to add all of us”

As Charlie raised her head from the screen, she was met by Diavolo’s bright grin “I’ll go ahead and send you a message!”

Satan smirked and quipped “Isn’t that nice, Charlie. Now you will be friends with the future king of the Devildom!”

Charlie wasn’t sure just how nice that was considering the situation. She was reeling from all of the information she had just received. Luckily, it seemed like she would have plenty of time to process - whether she wanted it or not.

Her eyes were brought up at the sound of a door slamming open. Lucifer sighed softly, “Well, you’ve got that done now, and it seems the idiot has arrived as well.”

“HEY! Just who do you think you are, human? You’ve got a lotta nerve summoning the **Great Mammon**!”

Charlie’s heart leapt into her throat as she stared up at him. His skin was mocha colored and his eyes were blue with gold highlights. His silver hair was a fluff of unkempt chaos and as it shifted, it seemed to glitter with gold highlights. Chaos was a good word for his entire appearance. This boy was utter anarchy incarnate. 

  
  


_Oh… oh no…_ **_Oh noooo_ **

Charlie was smitten.


	2. A Year To Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so much shorter than the previous chapter. I just felt like this was the best place to stop the chapter. I promise the next one will have more meat to it.
> 
> ... take that as you will
> 
> EDIT: Made a small tweak to improve the flow. May come back and improve later

“Listen up, because I’m only gonna say this once.” Mammon roared with a thick New York accent hanging on every syllable. Charlie stared up at the Avatar of Greed in a daze. She was so mystified by the way his eyes glittered and the cocky bravado he seemed to be desperate to portray. His hands rested on his hips and he was leaning forward to glare her in the face as he continued, “If you value your life, then you’ll hand over all of your money now! And anything else of value, too!”

Charlie blinked.

_ Holy shit is he mugging me? Am I being mugged?! _

As Mammon opened his mouth to continue his shakedown, he was interrupted by a soft giggle. The giggle escalated quickly into a manic cackle as Charlie threw her head back placed a hand over her chest. Mammon shot back upright and leaned back away, a look of utter confusion and alarm on his face as Charlie’s laughter echoed through the hall. She gasped out, tears welling up in her eyes, “You… you think I…  **_I have money?!_ ** You think- You think I would- I look like a homeless LUMBERJACK!” before descending into another bout of hysterics. 

As she clutched her sides, doubling over in laughter, Mammon blushed deeply and sputtered out “Ya hafta have  _ somethin’ _ !” without missing a beat, Charlie exclaimed “DEBT! I have - snrk- I have  **debt** ! You can have all of that, darlin’! Take it, PLEASE!” 

Mammon’s expression shifted from confusion to annoyance as he attempted to recover from this blow to his ego, “What kind of human are ya?!”

Charlie wiped her tears as her rolling cackle eased to a bubbling giggle “I am a trash human being and I have no idea why I’m here but here I am and you’re stuck with me”

Mammon blinked and turned to face his brothers “Can we get a refund?”

Lucifer scowled as he closed the last few steps between himself and his younger brother “Shut up before I punch you” Charlie watched in confusion as Lucifer brought his fist into his younger brother’s shoulder.

“GAH, OWW! Hey, what’s the big idea?! I thought you were actually gonna give me  **a chance** to shut up before punching me!” Charlie snickered quietly as Satan stepped forward and interjected “Charlie, Mammon here is the Avatar of Greed. He governs and oversees all forms of it.”

Satan titled his head, smirking softly “Whenever he takes a liking to someone, they suddenly find themselves awash in money. But from what I hear,” a scowl quickly replaced the smirk “if he decides to break it off with someone, that wealth evaporates. They’re left without a Grimm to their name.”

Asmodeus leaned over next to Charlie, holding one finger in the air and grinning brightly “And he’s also a masochist. That part’s important.”

Lucifer nodded solemnly “Indeed. And it just so happens I have a job for my masochist of a brother.”

Mammon crossed his arms and pouted at the others “Y’all stop telling lies! I ain’t asked for that punch, and I AIN’T a masochist!”

Lucifer continued, not even acknowledging that Mammon had spoken, “Mammon,  **you** are going to be in charge of seeing to this human’s needs during the whole exchange.” A smirk crossed his lips as he added, “I expect your full cooperation.”

Mammon glanced at Charlie and a look of horror crossed his features “What?!  **Why me?!** ”

Amso whined in response, “Aww, lucky you, Mammon! I’m so jealous…”

“All right, then why don’t YOU do it, Asmodeus?!” 

“What? Hell no, too lazy.”

Charlie scowled between the brothers, highly annoyed at being regarded like a stray puppy they had found. She looked around the hall, tuning out to the banter of the brothers as she began to attempt to process the situation she had found herself in. Her mind drifted home to her job, her friends and family…

_ Oh god are they going to tow my car from the work parking lot?! _

She was snatched from her panic by an overwhelmingly oppressive sensation. She turned to see a visibly almost radioactive aura behind Lucifer. There was a dangerous look in his eyes as he glared at Mammon, “ **Surely** you’re not going to tell me that you object to this arrangement, are you?”

Mammon seemed to shrink under Lucifer’s gaze. After a moment of all but physically cowering, Mammon threw his hands up, “Ugh… I hate you guys! Every last one of ya! Fine… FINE! I’ll do it, okay?!”

He turned back to Charlie and she looked up at him, her heart fluttering as their eyes met, “All right,  **human** , listen up. As much as I don’t want to look after you, I’ve got no choice. It’s a huge pain in the ass, and I’m too important for this kind of thing, but  **Lucifer** told me to do it, so I will.” Charlie fought to suppress the grin that was fighting its way onto her face as he jabbed a finger towards her. He was cute. An asshole. But a cute asshole. “But in return, you better make sure you don’t cause me any trouble, got it?!”

Charlie beamed up at him, her hands tucked behind her back, fingers crossed, as she chirped in response. “All right, deal.”

“Good,” he placed his hands back on his hips and nodded smugly “that’s what I want to hear. As long as you do as I say, we won’t have any problems. Just be sure you don’t forget which one of us is the boss here.” 

Charlie tilted her head and grinned as she practically sang back to him “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t.”

Lucifer pushed his brother back, causing Mammon to stumble and yelp. Charlie looked up to meet the dapper demon’s cool smile, “We have decided who will take care of you, so on to the next subject: your tasks.”

Charlie smiled hopefully, “Will I get tests?” She always did well on tests.

Lucifer’s eyes glinted as he replied, “Good question… Your task is to polish up your soul nicely and to acquire the power to resist demons.”

Charlie’s smile dropped into a confused frown. “My soul?”

“Demons like humans with nice souls.” Lucifer’s smile turned sinister as he explained, “Let me put it another way. Nice souls look like shiny jewels. Do you understand now?”

Charlie nodded silently - prompting Lucifer to continue “Demons will use their wisdom and abilities to tempt the humans so they can get their hands on their souls. Other demons at RAD also have tasks assigned to them just like you. In other words,” his face grew serious, “either humans will be tempted by demons, or demons will lose against the shiny and noble souls of a human and make a run for it. You could say it is an experiment to find out who will win.”

Lucifer smiled as Charlie shrieked internally.

_ He said noble. I am so  _ **_fucked_ ** _. I am about as noble as a sewer rat. Oh no, oh no. I’m gonna lose. They’re gonna eat me. Or torture me. Or eat my soul. Or- wait… _

She managed to form the last thought into words as she haltingly asked, “What.. happens if I… lose?”

Lucifer’s smile seemed to grow as he stated, “There is no penalty set.” Charlie could swear there was amusement in his voice as he asked, “Would you like me to think of one?”

He obviously noticed her discomfort as he added, “There, there, don’t give me that look. Don’t take it so seriously. You won’t have to do those tasks on your own. After all, you don’t have any magic in you unlike the other exchange student from the human world…”

Charlie pouted. She didn’t know who this person was but she hated them already.

“...so my brothers and I will lend our power to you and you alone.”

Okay maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

“With that, my explanation has come to a close.But to sum it up for you… You will be an exchange student here at RAD for one year, and you must do your tasks.Since you have no magic power, we will lend you a hand. And when your exchange period comes to an end, you are to submit a paper about your stay here in the Devildom. It’s as easy as pie, don’t you think?”

Charlie gaped up at him. What kind of pie has he had? She was drawn from her righteous indignation by Mammon blustering “I wanna make one think clear right now: Don’t blame me if someone gets eaten, ‘cause it ain’t my fault.”

This was followed by the rumbling drawl of “Lucifer, I’m hungry.”

Lucifer once again completely ignored Mammon, telling Beelzebub to behave himself. Charlie looked over at Mammon, feeling oddly… uncomfortable about the way he was so casually disregarded.

She looked around the room and took a deep breath. She was here whether she wanted to be or not, 

“Fuck it. Let’s make it a year to remember!”

  
  



	3. Conflicts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains strong language

Charlie sighed as she trudged after the whining Avatar of Greed. He had not stopped complaining since they had left the earshot of Lucifer. At first, she had managed to tune him out by observing the beautiful streets of Devildom. Cobblestone paths and hand-cut brick shops had led through the small city. All of the lamps glowed with eerily colored flames, giving such a spooky and morbid but also charming ambience. Different shapes and sizes of demons roamed the sidewalks - filling the air with a pleasant chatter. 

But now they were walking a singular path through a fog-filled forest. The trees were bare and skeletal, clawing their way up towards the pale full moon. There was little change in the scenery, and the topic of conversation. If Charlie didn’t know any better, she would have guessed Mammon was the Avatar of Complaining.

Charlie stopped as Mammon turned to her and exclaimed, “Anyway,  **it doesn’t matter** ! Just don’t go thinking that I’m scared of Lucifer or anything! Because I’m  **not** !” 

Charlie couldn’t help but smile as he looked down at her expectantly - searching for reassurance that she knew he was the big bad demon that he so desperately tried to portray. Charlie took the break in walking as an opportunity to reach in her pocket and pull out the crumpled pack of cigarettes, “I know that.”

Mammon watched her put one between her lips and light it with a bic from inside the pack, “...Oh.Okay, then, as long as we’ve got that straight.”

“As an arrow, darlin’.” She took a long drag of the cigarette, her smile dropping into an expression of disinterest as she leaned against one of the knotted tree trunks. 

Mammon stared at her for a moment before scrunching his nose up in disgust as the smell of the smoke reached him, “... Ugh, whatever. Let’s move on.”

Charlie frowned and held up the cigarette, “Can I finish my smoke first?”

“Why are you even doin’ that? It smells disgustin’! Can’t imagine it tastes any better.”

Charlie shrugged and rolled her eyes, used to this treatment from non-smokers, “Tastes just fine to me. It’s an old habit from when I was a waitress. Calms my nerves. And it’s super toxic which is a plus because I long for the sweet release of death”

Mammon snatched the cigarette from her hand and threw it on the ground, stomping it out, “Oh no ya don’t!”

“HEY! WHAT THE FU-”

Mammon thrust a finger towards her face, “My job is to keep you alive! I ain’t lettin’ ya kill yourself with some nasty human poison sticks!”

Charlie looked down at the cigarette under his shoe before bringing her gaze back up to glare at him, “That’s not  **your** call to make,  _ asshole _ !”

Mammon started to yell at her for disrespecting him when he saw her opening the pack to pull out another one. He snatched the whole pack from her hands - ignoring her loud protests - and tore it in half, along with all of the contents. Charlie stared in horror as he dropped the almost full pack of now ruined cigarettes on the ground, brushing his hands together and stating, “Everything is my call, human. I’m the GREAT Mammon.” 

With that, he turned and sauntered off, resuming his complaining. Charlie stared after him, filled with rage and awe. She debated thoroughly if she would be able to survive punching him in the face. But after running through what she knew of demons so far, found the answer to be in the negative and grumbled as she resumed her trudge after him.

After a few more minutes of walking, the trees cleared out and revealed a huge mansion that - if the outward appearance was any indication - was almost definitely haunted. Mammon walked right up through the gates, paying no mind to Charlie who stopped and gaped up at the magnificent structure in awe. The towering three story house was a beautiful example of high Victorian Gothic architecture with multiple spires and even a glass observatory attached. As Charlie passed through the tall wrought iron gate, she was amazed by the beauty of the building and almost forgot about how angry she was over her cigarettes.

Mammon led her through the front door into a large, ornate foyer with twin curved staircases - each guarded by a dragon gargoyle. Charlie looked around at all the paintings on the walls as Mammon stated, “This is the House of Lamentation. It’s one of the dorms here at RAD.” 

Charlie turned her gaze back to him as he corrected himself, “Well, it’s not JUST one of the dorms. It’s the dorm reserved for student council members.”

He pouted as he seemed to tangent, “Lucifer, Asmo, and the others take every chance they can get to insult me. Callin’ me scum, sayin’ that I’m a money-grubber and stuff…”

Charlie actually felt kind of bad for him. He seemed really… lonely when he said that. He placed the smug smirk back on his face, “... but I’m an officer on the student council, same as them. The elite of the elite, the  **top** of the RAD social pyramid.”

He puffed out his chest and exclaimed, “In other words, I’m a big shot. A REAL big shot. Like, even regular big shots are impressed by what a big shot I am. So don’t you go thinkin that I’m just some ordinary demon. I’m nothing like those other peons walking the halls here”

_ God, why is he so cute?!  _

__ Charlie zoned out, taking a moment to look over his face. He looked younger than Lucifer and Diavolo. Maybe a few years. She wondered just how much time it took for demons to age. Did the age of the demon determine their physical appearance? But Beelzebub didn’t look younger than Mammon. In fact, at first glance, she would have sworn him the second oldest of the set. She was pulled back from her ruminations as Mammon crossed his arms and stated, “Now, it’s time I show you to your room…”

Her heart soared at the thought of a bed. She was so very tired and would love to take some time to actually process all of the information that she had been pelted with in the last couple of hours. As Mammon led her through the foyer, her eyes drifted to a bulletin board. Particularly a flyer about a part time job. She stopped, reading over the flyer. It was for a server position at a restaurant called Hell’s Kitchen. She was pulled away from the advert by Mammon snapping, “Hey, don’t just stand there with your jaw open. Hurry up or I’m gonna leave ya behind.” she turned to look at him as he added, “If there’s something you wanna ask me, you’d best do it now.”

Charlie thought about it but decided that she could just come back for the flyer later, when she wasn’t being led around by the Boy-Whine-der. 

“Nope. Nothing in particular.”

“Hmph… fine then.” He seemed especially annoyed by her response but brushed it off, “Now, I’m gonna give you a piece of advice, so listen up. If you wanna survive even a day here in the Devildom, you’d better listen REAL close to what I’m about to say.” 

Charlie nodded, preparing herself for either some truly useful advice or some truly outlandish absurdity.

“If it ever looks like a demon is about to attack you… run away. Either that, or die.”

Charlie blinked and nodded slowly.

_ Nah, fuck that. I’mma throw hands. Daddy ain’t raise no li’l bitch. _

__ Suddenly, a voice with a thick Japanese accent piped up behind Mammon, “How about this? I vote for YOU to die, Mammon.”

“D’ah…! Levi…”

Charlie looked past Mammon to see a tall, slender figure standing with a venomous glare locked on the Avatar of Greed. He was pale, with fluffy purple hair sweeping across his forehead, almost covering his bright orange eyes. Charlie was mesmerized by those eyes. They were so bright and so… sharp. All of his features were slender and seemed to exude rage. He seemed ready to explode. He reminded Charlie of a power transformer that was throwing sparks.

She eased toward him as Mammon stuttered out “Uh, l-listen up, human! This here is Leviathan, the Avatar of Envy. He’s the third oldest of us brothers. Since his name’s sorta hard to say, you can just call him Levi! Okay then, let’s move on.”

The gangly boy didn’t seem to notice Charlie inching towards him as he spit, “Mammon, give me back my money. Then go crawl in a hole and die.”

The closer Charlie got, the cuter he was. He reminded her of the video gamer boys she used to watch streaming her favorite games. She was fixated on his face. She had contained herself all day. No more. She slowly inched closer as the two brothers bickered back and forth.

“Unbelievable. Seriously Mammon, you’re - “

Both boys fell silent as Charlie’s finger made gentle contact with Levi’s cheek. His orange eyes widened and he turned to look at her. They made eye contact - her finger never leaving his cheek - and she beamed up at him sweetly and chirped, “Boop!”

Charlie had never heard any creature make such a shrill and horrific screeching noise in her life. As Levi began screaming curses, Charlie looked around only to find Mammon had used this opportunity to make his escape. She swallowed and turned back to the very agitated, very bright red demon in front of her.

“Do you realize what you’ve done?! You created a distraction and now Mammon has gotten away from me! Dammit, I need that money to buy the Blu-Ray box set of  _ Journey to the Devildom: The Tale of a Little She-Devil and her Reluctant Companion _ . The initial round of copies includes promotional tickets to a live event as a special bonus.”

Charlie fidgeted a little, wringing her hands in guilt, “Sorry… I didn’t realize… he would run off like that…”

Levi huffed and glared down at her, “This is EXACTLY why humans are- “ his expression shifted into a smile and Charlie felt her heart flutter as he exclaimed, “Wait a second.  **Humans** … yes, that’s it… Suddenly, I’ve got an idea. Listen, are you free right now? Of course you are, You’ve gotta be, right?”

Charlie tried to interject, “Um actually I was tryin-”

“You know what? Never mind. Either way,  **you’re coming with me.** ”

Leviathan grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the stairs. As she followed after him, she felt her D.D.D buzzing. She looked down to see texts from Mammon making excuses for ditching her. She scowled as she sent him a sticker in response and then shoved the device back into her pocket. 

Leviathan dragged her to a door and shoved her inside. Charlie looked around in awe of the room. It was beautiful. Blue tinted with what appeared to be a shimmering pool of water for a ceiling. On the wall opposite the door was a massive fish tank, taking up most of the wall. There were anime and J-Pop idol posters all over the walls and shelves full of anime figurines. She looked over at the computer system in the corner and felt a rush of excitement. It was a gaming system! She started towards it to inspect the specs and see what games he had when she heard the door shut. She turned to look at Leviathan as he walked into the middle of the room, leaning against the...tub? Were those pillows in the tub? Did… did this boy sleep in a bathtub?

She was pulled from her confusion as Leviathan spoke, “What’s that now? You want to know why I looked around to see if anyone was watching before I closed the door?”

Charlie hadn’t even noticed he’d done that but sure, let’s see where this was going.

“Why do you THINK I did it?! Isn’t it obvious?! Imagine what would happen if someone saw me inviting  **you** into my room!” 

_ Forcing me into your room against my will. _

“A  **human** who doesn’t even look like  **an otaku,** but  **a normie** ! You know what people would say, right?!”

_ Okay, wow. So we're going straight to insults. I don’t even know why that’s insulting but that is  _ **_super_ ** _ insulting. _

Charlie crossed her arms, leaning against a nearby bookcase. She looked around for a moment before a smirk tugged at her lips and she teased, “Are you worried that people might gossip?” 

His reaction was everything she could have hoped for. He turned bright pink and covered his mouth with the back of his hand, stuttering out “Of… of c-c-c… of c-c-course not! Th… th-that’s crazy! There’s room in my heart for only one person, and she’s animated!” 

_ Of course she is, you absolutely adorable little weeb. _

“I’ll always stay faithful to my dear, sweet Ruri-chan, always!”

_ Oh dear lord, he has a waifu! _

Leviathan scowled at Charlie, “Why would people gossip?! I mean, me and some non-otaku - some normie?!”

_ Aaand we're back to insulting. _

“And not only that, a THREE-DIMENSIONAL on from the real world?! It’s insane, that’s what it is!”

Charlie frowned deeply and turned away. She found it deeply insulting that anyone would refer to her as a ‘normie’ and even more insulting that it was insane to insinuate that he might have any sort of interest in her. It wasn’t like she couldn’t understand the appeal of fictional characters. 

She thought back to her own days as an otaku. Freshly dropped out of high school, she never left her room and spent her days reading manga, watching anime, and playing video games. But even then, she had known the real thing would’ve been better

Her eyes scanned over the thick, hardcover books in the bookcase she was leaning on: “ _ The Tale of the Seven Lords: The Lord of Shadows Awakens _ ”. She tilted her head and inspected the series when Leviathan’s voice rang out, “What is it, human? What’re you looking at?”

_ I have. A name. _

Her annoyance melted away as he beamed with excitement, “Wait, that looks like…  _ The Tale of the Seven Lords _ . Are you a fan of that, too?”

Charlie blushed. She was so enraptured by how cute his excitement was that she had almost missed the question, “Huh? Never heard of it” 

“... Excuse me?”

_ Ah, here we go… _

“You don’t know TSL? And you call yourself a human?! Just how clueless ARE you?! How could you not know?!”

_ I’m going to fight you. I’m going to lose and I’m going to die but I’m going to throw hands at you, you pompous arrogant little- _

__ “Just the fact that you don’t know TSL alone is proof that you’ve been wasting your life! So, I’m going to do you a favor and teach you about TSL. Make sure you pay attention!”

_ I will cut your throat in your sleep. _

“ _ The Tale of the Seven Lords _ , otherwise known as TSL, is a series of fantasy novels written by Christopher Peugeot. It’s a heroic epic spanning 138 volumes, and it’s the most widely-read fantasy series in the world. There are even theatrical versions, an animated series, and feature films, too. And it’s been translated into a total of 182 different languages. The 1990s theatrical version was an utter disaster, owing to the fact that they added several characters that were NOT present in the original manuscript. At the time I was like, ‘This producer totally needs to crawl in a hole and die!’ but then the 2015 version came out, and it was AMAZING! Better than amazing! If you ask me, it showed that needlessly cramming a female lead in there alongside Henry was a bad idea. That’s not what he needs. What he NEEDS is a friend who really understands him, and the 2015 version proved that. Also, the most vital element of the story is that each of the seven lords is so unique. They’re all so interesting in their own peculiar way. That’s what makes TSL so great....”

Charlie watched as Leviathan continued to gush about the series. It actually did sound interesting and - if she was being totally honest - hearing the way he talked about it made her want to read it even more. As he gushed about his favorite characters and each of the lords, Charlie began to draw parallels. She also noticed how incredibly lonely Leviathan sounded. He idolized the Lord of Shadows merely for the presence of a friend. She could feel her heart melting at the sad look on his face. He nodded to the massive tank on the wall, “Check it out. See that goldfish in the fish tank there? He’s actually named Henry. I love TSL so much that I couldn’t help naming him after the main character. But I can’t really high-five a goldfish, can I?”

Charlie looked over at the fish, reminded of her cats back home. Two of them were named after characters from her favorite book series. She was glad that her father would be taking care of them while she was here.

She looked back at Leviathan, noticing just how sad he looked. How lonely. Her heart ached deeply for him. She wanted to hug him. To wrap her arms around him and hold him tight and tell him that she would be his friend. But, considering the effect a cheek boop had on the poor boy, she resisted. Levi seemed to snap back out of his melancholy as he continued his obsessing, “The original author of TSL, Christopher Peugeot, he’s actually a human, you know? That’s why I’m so jealous of you guys.Humans are so lucky.”

Leviathan sighed deeply, “You’ve got subscription services that let you watch your favorite anime anytime,”

_ I always pirated mine, but whatever. _

“You can go to Akihabara whenever you want…”

_ Uh… Not without a few thousand dollars that I don’t have. _

“Why do only you guys get to experience all the good stuff?”

_ Rich people. Rich people get to experience all the good stuff. _

__ “I mean, humans’ whole concept of pleasure originally came from us demons, you know? We gave it to you. So, why can’t we have a little of that back now, huh? I want to be able to go to a Japanese maid cafe, too. I want to hear the maids welcome me as if I’m the master of the house, to have them draw ketchup hearts on my fried rice omelette, to experience the magic of it all. I want to cosplay as Henry, and then go stand in the center of Akihabara, or maybe under that one building in Tokyo that’s shaped like upside-down triangles. And once I’m there, I want to perform Henry’s super-powerful signature finishing move for all to see and say the incantation that goes with it. I want to shout it at the top of my lungs!”

_ I mean… same. That sounds like a nerdy good time. _

“... Actually, you know what? I want to BE Henry!”

_ That’s a whole ass mood. _

Charlie was riled up by the energy of his speech and exclaimed, “Right! Screw all the normies! Who needs ‘em?”

Leviathan roared in response, “Yeah, screw ‘em!”

After a moment, Leviathan let out a sigh and said, “All right, enough. This is starting to depress me. Anyway, I didn’t bring you here to tell you about TSL.”

Charlie pouted.

_ But I  _ **_want_ ** _ to hear about TSL. _

“I don’t think there’s any harm in just coming out and saying what you already know is true: Mammon is a complete and utter scumbag. It’s very important that you understand this. So I’ll say it one more time.”

Charlie felt her irritation rising as she scowled at the otaku demon in front of her. Sure, she thought that Mammon was an asshole. But she didn’t like the way his brother was talking about him. Did they all just bond over tearing the poor dumb boy down?

“Mammon is a  **hopeless worthless scumbag** .”

Charlie clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. Her patience was running very thin at this point. Leviathan seemed to ignore her growing irritation as he continued, “I lent that scumbag money, and now I want him to pay me back. But being the scumbag that he is, he won’t do it. I wish I could force him to, but despite what a rotten waste of space he is, Mammon’s still the second oldest. As the third oldest, no matter how hard I try, I don’t stand a chance against him.”

_ Good you hateful, insulting little- _

__ “You say you want to know how Mammon and I first became enemies? Well, it’s a long story, but sure. I’ll tell you, human”

Charlie let her mind wander as she looked over at the bathtub bed behind the demon. She wondered if she could sneak over and take a nap. He didn’t seem like he even really needed her input. He seemed perfect content to babble on his own. Sure he was cute when he was excited - and kind of pitiful - but she was exhausted and grumpy and he was very rude. Charlie was reaching her limit of information intake for one day and she had a feeling that it wasn’t close to over yet. Charlie blinked as she zoned back into the story to the line, “And the worst part is that he was STARK NAKED!” 

Charlie turned bright pink as she started trying to figure out what exactly was happening in this story because it had taken a very weird turn and she couldn’t figure out what was going on. All she knew was that Mammon - maybe - was stark naked. 

“...As I started to lose consciousness, I remember thinking… Why does he have to sleep in the nude? He could at least put on some underwear. I don’t remember anything else after that… You’ve seen just how fast he is yourself, haven’t you? No one aside from Lucifer or Beel has that kind of speed.”

Charlie gaped at Leviathan in confusion and shock. What the hell kind of story was this? Why was Mammon naked? Why is that the last thing Leviathan remembered? Leviathan continued to ignore Charlie’s expressions and proceeded to the actual plan, “But it, say, a  **human** made a  **pact** with Mammon, and bound him to their service… then he’d have to do whatever that human told him to. Which means that if you make a pact with Mammon and then ordered him to give me back my money he wouldn’t have any choice but to do it.”

Leviathan beamed deviously down at Charlie. She tilted her head and sighed. “What’s a pact?”

Leviathan’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, “A pact, with a demon… Haven’t you seen that in movies and such? The demon lends his strength to a human to make their wish come true in exchange for their soul.”

Charlie scowled, “I don’t want to give up my soul!”

“That isn’t always necessary. It depends on what’s in the pact.”

Charlie did not release the frown as Leviathan added, “But, well, you need to give SOMETHING to the demon to make it worth the exchange, so it’s pretty much inevitable. If you don’t want to give up your soul, then I’ll tell you how you can negotiate with Mammon.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow as Leviathan leaned ever so slightly close, tilting his head, “Also, I’m sure it would be useful having him as your servant. I mean, despite how awful he is, he’s still a powerful demon. But I bet you feel worried, being dragged down here to the Devildom and all.”

_ Tired. The word you’re looking for is tired. Please, let me sleep. I am too old for this. _

“So I don’t think it would end up being a bad deal for you, either. Don’t you agree?”

_ Will agreeing get me to a bed faster? I want to go to bed. _

Charlie sighed as Leviathan wiggled his eyebrows a little, “Yeah, all right. I’ll go give it a shot.”

Leviathan frowned, “...Are you really optimistic by nature, or are you too stupid to know what you’re getting into?”

_ Fuck you. _

“Regardless, if I’m being honest, I don’t really care what  **you** think.”

“Fuck you!” Charlie growled, finally reaching her limit. Leviathan rolled his eyes and continued, once again disregarding her input, “What’s important is that I have a plan, and I’m going to explain it to you now.”

Charlie grumbled softly, “Well thank  _ fuck _ you have a plan you fucking-”

Leviathan cut her off by snapping, “So, shut up and listen.”

Charlie glared up at him as he began to explain, “If you just walk up to Mammon and ask him to make a pact with you, he’ll never agree. No, you need some leverage… a  **bargaining chip** .” 

Leviathan began pacing, holding one finger up, “You’re going to offer him something in return…”

He grinned, “Something he wants so badly that he’d do ANYTHING to get it”

Charlie crossed her arms and tilted her head, “Cool. Got any suggestions?”

Leviathan shrugged, “I’ll work on that and get back to you. In the meantime, I guess I’m stuck showing you to your room.”

Charlie sighed with exhaustion, “Please… I am literally begging. Show me to my bed”

Leviathan scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Come on, it’s not far”

He turned and led her down the hall a few doors and pointed, “Here, this one’s yours”

As Charlie turned to thank him, he was already slinking down the hall back to his own domicile. She sighed softly and opened the door. The room was dimly lit and absolutely stunning. She wished she had the energy to properly enjoy it, but for now the only thing she could focus on was the big soft bed in the center. She staggered towards it, her entire body feeling heavy.

She landed on the surface face first, bouncing slightly. She enjoyed the feeling of being completely physically and mentally still for a moment before pushing herself up and stripping down to her underwear. She climbed in between the soft sheets, grabbing the pillow she wasn’t going to rest her head on and squeezing it tightly to her chest. She let her eyes drift closed as her head sank into the other plush pillow, sweet darkness over taking her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all have been so nice! Thank you! This chapter was a killer but I like that I got to go a bit more off script with some of the interactions! Hope you enjoy!


	4. Adjustments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Negative body talk, partial nudity, sexuality discussion, mommy kink

Charlie drifted in and out of consciousness. She thought she was back home, wondering why her bed felt so strange. Then she decided she must be in a hotel. Was she travelling for work again? No, she hadn’t worked at that job in over a year. Was she on vacation? That must be it. Which meant she could sleep as long as she wanted. After all, it  _ was  _ still dark out.

“WAKE UP, HUMAN!”

Charlie shot up in bed, screaming and wildly swinging the pillow she had clutched to her chest. The pillow was snatched easily from her hands as the voice exclaimed, “Quit DOIN’ that!”

Charlie was now kneeling on the bed, glaring up at the silver-haired demon as she tried to catch her breath. He threw the pillow to the corner of the room and turned to face her, “Geez, it’s yer own fault for sleepin’ so la-”

His mouth snapped shut as his eyes widened and his face turned a deep shade of red. Charlie stared at him in confusion for a moment before looking down. Oh right, she was in her underwear. She snapped her face up, now feeling the heat rising in her own face as she shrieked, “Wha- STOP LOOKING AND GET OUT!” 

She grabbed the other pillow and threw it in the direction where Mammon had been standing gaping. But, it seemed he had regained his senses and rushed out of the room with his unnatural speed, slamming the door behind him. Charlie sighed softly and fell back, sitting on her heels. Her previous misconceptions of where she was had now all but dissipated as the memories of the previous day flooded her mind. She grimaced and placed a hand on her stomach, the stabbing pain reminding her of the fact that she didn’t have any cigarettes.

She sighed and stood, looking down at the smartwatch on her wrist. Unfortunately, it appeared that the designers didn’t account for inter-realm travel when crafting the technologies, so it was frozen on the exact moment that it had been when she left. She dug through her discarded clothes, pulling out the D.D.D. and checking the time. She frowned with annoyance.

_ Who the fuck does he think he is waking me up at 4:30 in the goddamn morning and accusing me of sleeping in?! _

She threw the device on the bed and sighed again as she answered her own question. 

_ The GREAT Mammon. That’s who... Massive pretty-boy brat extraordinaire. _

She looked around the beautiful room that she had been assigned and smiled softly. It looked like it had been designed around the concept of a fairy tale. There was an ivy covered tree at the head of the bed and a leafy bush at the foot. Multi-colored lamps hung from the branches, illuminating the room in a soft, gentle ambiance. There was a table behind the head of the bed with multiple chairs and two candelabras in the center. The candles seemed to be burning infinitely. 

Charlie walked across the creaking hardwood floor to the chest of drawers, stopping when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to view the full length mirror, slowly contemplating her own reflection.

She was pale and tall for a woman - she always had been. She reached up and ran her fingers through her dark strawberry blonde hair. She had chopped all of it off with a razor in a manic fit months ago - leaving it in wisps of random length and thickness - and had been regretfully growing it out ever since. To call it a pixie cut would have been generous. 

She met her own eyes, deep blue with golden rings around the pupils nestled under thick but sculpted brows. She had learned growing up that the gold rings were a mutation called ‘Central Heterochromia Iridum’. She had always thought of them as being little solar eclipses in her eyes. She trailed down her round face to the button nose. It was one of the few things she got from her mother - for which she was grateful. Following down to her pale pink, full lips - no Angelina Jolie but enough that she never got complaints. She herself thought her mouth was too small for her face, nestled between a huge field of pale cheeks. At least she had a nice jawline. Well defined but not too harsh. Her chin was round and thin, and she had always thought it was pretty cute.

Slowly her eyes trailed down to her broad, muscular shoulders - a bane in her youth that she had actually grown quite proud of as she had grown older. She especially loved the lavish spackling of freckles she possessed there as it was the only place she had them. Her eyes were drawn to her bosom. It was hard not to be. It was the one physically feminine quality she had been gratuitously endowed with. A fact she maintained a long standing love-hate relationship with. She followed her figure down to her stomach where it jutted out overlapping the top of her panties. She reached up and placed her hands under the bottom of it, resting the flesh on her end two fingers. She had worked so hard for so long to shrink it this much. Most of her youth had been spent with it so bulbous she could fit her entire hand comfortably underneath it. The looseness of the skin and the deep purple stretch marks remained hateful reminders of that history. She had always hated how she naturally carried all of her excess weight only in her stomach. Never in her thighs or hips or buttocks where women were supposed to carry it. No, those had always been - as they were now - almost pure muscle from her hips all the way down. She had large legs, so large in fact that it was often a topic of remark and awe when people first saw them. Charlie had thought they looked like men’s legs when she was younger. She still thought they were abnormally large but after a few experiences - had found reasons to enjoy them.

She turned back to the dresser, wincing as she caught sight of her back. Or rather, the dark black hairs curling up from between her shoulders. She had always had issues with facial and body hair. As she dug through the drawers, she remembered the time one of her coworkers took a picture of her back down her shirt and harassed her now ex-boyfriend with it. Her face still heated up with shame, all these years later.

Charlie set some clothes out on the bed. Strangely, it all seemed to be roughly the correct size. She shuddered wondering whose job it was to guess her bra size. She turned, spying the adjacent bathroom. It was decorated similarly to the bedroom with a garden bath and a disconnected shower. She took inventory as she wandered in, noticing that all of the essentials were present and accounted for save for certain preferential items such as perfume. She turned the water in the shower on and began to strip, it was time to prepare for another exhausting day.

  
  
  


Asmodeus looked down from the mirror curiously as his D.D.D buzzed. He blinked and stared at the unknown number, slowly setting his makeup brush down on the vanity. Who could  _ possibly  _ be calling him at five o’clock in the morning from a number he didn’t know? As he answered, he hoped desperately that it wasn’t yet another one night stand realizing that they were in love,

“Hello~?”

“Hi… Asmodeus…”

The voice was hesitant and vaguely familiar…

“...OH! Charlie, dear!” He chirped in realization “I was wondering who was calling me so early! Did you miss my voice that much that you had to call me as soon as you woke up?”

“Uh…. no. I actually… um… okay look. Don’t take this any kind of way but I am having a fashion emergency and I need you to come to my room because Idontknowwhattodo and I thoughtyouwouldbetheonlypersonwhocouldhelp”

Her speech grew progressively faster as she spoke, indicating her panic. Asmodeus grinned sweetly into the mouthpiece, just able to catch what she was saying, as he cooed, “Is that so~? I’ll be right over!”

Asmodeus rose from his seat as the call disconnected and gave himself another look in the mirror. He looked perfect as always and the sweet little exchange student was finally going to realize that. He turned, still in his silk robe, and sauntered out.

  
  
  


Charlie cracked the door and peeked out to find exactly who she expected to be knocking. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him in, slamming the door behind him, “Goodness, doll, no need to be so rough. Unless that’s what you’re into~”

Asmodeus eyed her like a cat eyeing a canary, his grin widening when he realized she was wearing only a half-buttoned dress shirt over her underwear, “I knew you’d come around, but I never expected you to fall for me this quickl-”

“No!” Charlie held a finger up as Asmodeus tried to close the gap between them. His hands shot up in a defensive pose as Charlie explained, “That was not a front. This is a real problem! I need you to  _ focus _ , Asmodeus!”

He smiled sweetly back at her, “Of course, love. And please, call me Asmo.”

Charlie blushed and held up a hand indicating to the shirt, “This is the emergency. It won’t button!”

She demonstrated as Asmo watched curiously. As Charlie tugged the two pieces of fabric towards the center, they barely came close to touching in front of her chest. Securing the button was entirely out of the question. She looked up at Asmo with a look of pure despair and frustration and he had to cover his mouth. She was unexpectedly cute. Asmo reached out and tugged at the collar of the shirt, glancing at the tag, “Hm… looks like it’s a size too small. But I see no issue with simply going like that”

He beamed at her happily and Charlie scowled, “Asmo, I am not walking around a school full of demons with my tits hanging out on full display”

She walked over and picked up the dark grey plaid pleated skirt, continuing her complaints, “And whose idea was it to give me a skirt?!”

“That’s the female uniform.”

“It’s a dumb uniform!”

Asmo cocked an eyebrow as Charlie tossed the skirt on the bed, “Skirts are impractical! And this one is too short. It barely comes halfway down my thigh! I can’t sit down in it”

The Avatar of Lust scoffed, “They’re not meant to be practical, they’re meant to be sexy”

Charlie groaned, “I’m not trying to be sexy I’m trying to learn”

Asmo crossed his arms and smirked as he gently teased, “Oh honey, no one is sexy if they have to try. Didn’t your mother teach you anything?”

His teasing smile dropped quickly as Charlie muttered softly, “Not much. She left when I was four. ”

Charlie looked up to see Asmodeus with a strange expression on his face. He was searching her face intensely, as if he was looking for something in particular. She blushed and looked away, turning back to the bed, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have dropped that on you like that. It was a long time ago. It’s fine”

She felt soft arms wrap around her from behind and turned, her entire body tensing up. Asmodeus leaned forward, holding her close with a gentle smile on his face. Or… her face? All of Asmodeus’s features had grown even softer than before. His lashes were even longer and darker. His hair seemed to have taken even more curls and his lips were even fuller and looked softer than Charlie thought possible. As Charlie stood paralyzed, her eyes flitted down to see that those were, in fact, breasts she had felt against her back. They were modest compared to her own but large enough to be easily noticeable. She looked back up as an even sweeter version of Asmo’s voice stated,

“You can call me Mommy if you’d like~”

Charlie felt like her entire head was on fire. Her thoughts were running in circles.

_ Tall hot lady, Tall Hot Lady, TALL HOT LADY MAYDAY MAYDAY! _

She had to say something. Anything. She opened her mouth and let out a noise that she could only describe as a “distressed lesbian honk”.

_ Nailed it. _

Asmodeus stared at the poor flustered human confused for a moment before the look of joyful realization suddenly crossed her face, “Charlie, you’re gay!”

Charlie pulled away, flapping her arms and sputtering, “Ah, I - yo-you- Hah~ Okay! So like um… you’re not  _ WRONG _ but…like, only like half right”

Asmo crossed her arms and giggled brightly, “Okay, so you’re bisexual”

Charlie placed a hand on her chest to slow her speeding heart, “I… okay no. Look, I’m pansexual”

Asmo blinked and smiled brightly, “Ah! That’s lovely. You’re also very. Cute! When you’re shy~” she leaned forward and gently tapped Charlie on the tip of the nose. 

Charlie whined and flapped her arms again, “No! Bad Asmo!  _ Focus _ ! I need  **help** !”

Asmodeus giggled again and turned, seeming to immediately fade back into his male form, “Right, right. Okay. I may have a couple of things that can help get you through the day. And then after classes I’ll take you shopping to pick out some different clothes, deal?”

Charlie closed her eyes and sighed deeply with relief as she replied, “Thank yo-”

Her response was cut off by a soft pair of lips gently covering her own. Charlie’s eyes shot open to Asmo pulling back from the kiss and winking as he teased, “What? You didn’t think it was going to be free, did you?”

He giggled again and sauntered out as Charlie sputtered in alarm after him.

After about ten minutes, Asmodeus returned fully dressed and carrying a small bag chirping happily, “Here we are!”

Charlie took the bag and dumped the contents on the bed. There was a bright pink cotton tank top, a pair of leggings with one pink leg and one teal, and a small container of hair texturizer. Charlie picked up the hair product and turned to Asmodeus quizzically. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, “Sweetie, are you going to try and tell me you don’t need it?”

Charlie rolled her eyes and picked up the tank top. As she did, a small square package was revealed beneath it. She looked over at Asmodeus with wide eyes as he smiled sweetly, “I saw a torn up pack of human cigarettes on the path to the house last night. I figured they had to be yours. These aren’t quite the same but they’re much better for your skin. Really, you  _ should _ quit smoking but,” he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand as he cooed, “I bet you look  _ so sexy _ with a cigarette in your mouth”

Charlie blushed and scoffed, “Thank you. I’ll be getting dressed now so-”

“Oh, don’t mind me, darling. Do whatever you need to.”

Charlie turned and glared at him as he took a seat at the table, grinning sweetly as he watched her. She fidgeted uncomfortably as her mind immediately shifted to her back, “I would rather you not… watch. I’m not…. Comfortable”

Asmodeus pouted, “Aw… well, alright. Do you know how to use texturizer?”

Charlie looked down at the foreign substance, “Uh... you put it… in your hair?”

Asmodeus giggled, “Oh goodness you really are too  _ cute _ !” 

Charlie looked at her feet and muttered, “M’not that cute… Just dumb at girl stuff”

Asmodeus rose and walked over, hooking a finger under her chin and placing his thumb on her bottom lip to tilt her face up towards him gently. Charlie blushed deeply at the intense look on his face, “You, Cariño, are adorable. Now, stop arguing with me and get ready or we’re going to be late.” With that he turned and sauntered into the bathroom. 

Charlie dressed quickly, unsure when he would return. When he did, he brought two brushes and a hairdryer with him from the bathroom. Charlie winced as he set to work on her hair. She had always been tender-headed. But, there was no denying that the demon knew what he was doing. In only ten minutes, he had styled her hair perfectly into what could only be described as perfect “just got laid” hair.

Charlie gave herself a quick look in the full length mirror as she rolled her sleeves up with a practiced hand. It wasn’t her usual style but it was good enough to face the general public of Devildom. She looked over at Asmo and smiled brightly, “Thanks, Asmo! I knew I could count on you!”

Asmodeus actually felt himself blush at this comment. Charlie didn’t seem to notice as she bounced over to him, giving him a peck on the cheek, and turned to walk out. Asmodeus almost reached out to grab her. The bed was right there. But as his hand twitched towards her the sound of her voice echoed in his head,

_ “I’m not… Comfortable” _

Asmo let his hand rest at his side, his honeyed eyes gaining a sharp glimmer to them. There was no point in rushing things. He’d draw her to him in time. After all, he had a whole year to seduce her. He smiled sweetly as she turned, waiting for him to follow after her.

  
  


As Asmodeus led Charlie to the dining room, the two chatted back and forth about the planned shopping trip for after classes. She emphasized that she would be paying him back for buying her clothes as soon as she got a part time job. He insisted that her company was payment enough in the flirtiest way possible as they entered the massive hall. 

Charlie turned to the table piled high with demonic foodstuffs. Her stomach gave a long, low whine - reminding her that it had been almost twenty-four hours since the last time she’d eaten. She paid no mind to anything that was being said to her as she piled a plate high with food and began devouring everything in front of her. There was horrified silence at the table before Satan’s voice cried out, “Oh good lord, there’s two of them now”

Charlie tore her focus from her plate to look around the table. All of the brothers were sitting staring at her in varying degrees of horror except two. Beelzebub was matching Charlie bite for bite, though his plate was stacked  _ much _ higher than hers was, and Mammon was nowhere to be found. The latter was probably for the best seeing as she wasn’t sure she could look him in the eyes right now. 

Charlie walked with Asmodeus to RAD, not talking quite as much. She took the time to get her nicotine fix as quickly as possible before Mammon could get his hands on this pack. Which didn’t bother Asmo in the least. He merely took this as an opportunity to talk about himself to his heart’s content. Charlie found Mammon was waiting outside of the school gate, pacing and muttering to himself. He was still red in the face and it was absolutely adorable. She could hear Asmodeus grumbling beside her, “What is wrong with that scummy idiot now?”

Charlie shrugged and turned, trotting towards the distressed Avatar of Greed. As she got closer, she could hear him muttering, “What the hell kind of human is she?! Sleeping practically naked! She’s so pale… and my god her bo-”

He jumped and gave a shriek as Charlie called out, “My  **what** ?!”

“Geez! What do you th-think you’re doin’ sneakin’ up on a guy like that?!”

Charlie pouted up at him, “I didn’t sneak! I started walking from way over there,” she pointed to where Asmo was standing, watching the interaction curiously, “You were just too busy complaining about how you found me when you  _ barged into my room  _ this morning _! _ ” 

She was blushing lightly at the memory, and Mammon turned bright red, “We-well that’s your fault for not wearin’ an-any c-c-cloth...es…” 

The poor boy looked like he was about to pop as he spun on his heel, “Gah! Whatever! C’mon we’re gonna be late!” he dropped his head and took off into the school. Charlie trotted to catch up, yelling out, “Mammon! Wait up! I can’t walk that fa-  **_MAMMON_ ** !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the kind comments and the kudos! Aaaah! Please, don't be afraid to let me know what you think! I live for your feedback and I'd love to be able to make the coming chapters better!


	5. Arrogant Presumptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight mentions of violence

The day blurred by once the classes started. Charlie was enraptured in the course material and couldn’t remember the last time her hand ached so much from taking notes. She had always done fairly well in school but it had always seemed to be a tedious rehashing of information that she already knew. Now, she was engaged. Hell, she was fascinated. It was new and different and exciting information about hexes, magical energy fundamentals and applications, demonic law and history, and so much more.

Mammon had the same first couple of classes as Charlie but their schedule split at that point and she found herself wandering the hallway alone. She looked down at the schedule and back up at the myriad of staircases. She was definitely lost. 

With a frustrated huff, Charlie raised a finger and began, “Eenie, meenie, miney-”

“Hey look, it’s that human everyone is talking about”

Charlie stopped, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. 

“They say she has  _ Mammon  _ babysitting her”

Charlie turned to face the two demons. Tall shadowy figures with glowing orange eyes. She watched one of the shadowed faces split into jagged portions as the demons chuckled,

“Doesn’t look like anyone is babysitting her now…”

Charlie squared her shoulders as both demons slinked towards her, the quiet one responding,

“We could devour her whole. No one would know…”

Charlie reached in her skirt pocket and wrapped her hand around the D.D.D. It wasn’t a particularly sturdy device but the corner in an eye socket might back one of them off enough to focus on the other. She flitted her eyes between the two of them visualizing the fight in her head - running through as many possibilities as quickly as possible. So far, the chances of getting out of this in one piece were slim.

_ But at least I’ll go down a fucking legend. And then I will come back as a ghost and haunt Mammon for leaving me lost in the fucking halls by myself. _

A voice behind Charlie called out, “Ah, there you are” 

The demons paused in their advance and looked up behind her. Slowly they began to slink back away from her. Charlie glanced over her shoulder to see a young man - barely in his twenties - smirking smugly down at her from the stairs. He had white hair and brown-grey eyes set in a fairly attractive face. Something about the way he was looking at her made Charlie feel… dirty.

She turned back to the demons to find they had all but fled as the young man called out, “You’re quite the celebrity here. A human with no magical power, guarded by the student council. Though I see your guardians are absent…”

Charlie let her shoulders relax and drew the pack of cigarettes from her pocket as the boy descended the stairs. She placed one between her lips as she stated plainly “You must be one of the other exchange students”

The boy smiled - an obviously fake token of diplomacy - as she lit the cigarette and looked him over, “Too skeezy looking to be an angel.” his smile twitched - but didn’t drop - at the remark, “So you must be the other human”

He tilted his head and ignored her assessment, “I don’t think you’re allowed to smoke in here.”

Charlie shrugged and took a long drag before replying, “I don’t think you’re the boss of me, kid”

His voice held a tone of self-satisfaction as he stated, “I did just save your life.”

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him, “Didn’t ask you to.”

The boy chuckled, “You’re very interesting. I was quite curious what the other student would be like. I have to say I didn’t expect them to select someone quite so-”

“Old?”

His grin widened - as if he was pleased with her self-deprecation, “I was going to say experienced.”

Charlie crossed her arms, taking another hit of the cigarette, “Well, allow me to save you the semantic gymnastics. I’m a grown ass woman playing high school in hell. I’m perfectly aware of how out of place I am here.”

This drew a full laugh from the other human, “You’re quite bold! If a bit reckless judging from that encounter just now. My name is Solomon and you are correct, I’m the other human exchange student. I have a feeling we’re going to get along very well.”

He held a hand out, which Charlie took briefly, “Charlie. That makes one of us.”

Solomon took his hand back and reached up, grasping his chin thoughtfully, “You dislike me.”

It wasn’t a question but Charlie answered it anyway with a shrug, “You seem like a smug little politician who thinks he has the world all figured out and has no qualms using whatever means necessary to get what he wants”

Solomon’s eyes gleamed at this assessment, “You don’t even know me”

Charlie scoffed, “I know enough, pipsqueak,” In all fairness, the boy wasn’t that much shorter than she was but Charlie knew she was already at a disadvantage and would take whatever ground she could get, “This ain’t my first rodeo.”

Solomon looked up into her eyes and beamed brightly, the first real smile he had shown Charlie this whole time, “I can’t say that you’re wrong. I see no reason not to do whatever I need to do to make things… entertaining”

He let his eyes drift down her figure, taking in her full visgage before bringing them to rest on her own, “And I have a feeling this year is going to be  _ quite  _ entertaining.”

Charlie took one last drag of her cigarette, almost to the filter, before dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. She narrowed her eyes and blew the smoke in his face, “Be entertained somewhere else”

Solomon waved the smoke from his face and took a step back, narrowing his eyes dangerously - his grin widening, “As you wish.”

As he turned to walk away, he raised a hand in the air to wave, “See you around,  _ Charlie. _ ” She felt herself tense up at the sound of his voice saying her name. 

Charlie sighed softly. She was still hopelessly lost and now she was irritated on top of it. As she turned, a familiar voice called out behind her, “I see you’ve met Solomon.” 

She jumped and placed a hand on her chest as she looked up at the dark haired eldest brother, “Hello, Lucifer. You’re very quiet to be so tall!”

He smirked, “So I’ve been told. You seemed preoccupied. Shall I walk you to your class?”

He tilted his head and smiled. Though, Charlie got the feeling he wasn’t asking. She nodded and sighed, “That Solomon kid… What’s his story?”

Lucifer crossed his arms and frowned as they ascended the stairs, “He’s the most powerful magic user in the human world. He possesses a ring of wisdom and is extremely cunning. You would do well  **not** to trust him.”

Charlie pulled out her D.D.D. “Oh, don’t worry. I don’t. Nor do I like him. He’s smug”

Lucifer smirked, “He was correct, however, that he saved your life.”

Charlie scowled, “And I was correct in that I never asked him to-”

Lucifer stopped and placed an arm in front of Charlie. She clasped her D.D.D to her chest and turned, looking up into Lucifer’s cold glare, “You would do well to remember that you are here for a reason, human.”

Charlie’s face heated up as the demon continued, “Your death would ruin the exchange program and completely derail Diavolo’s goals. As such, your only priority should be to survive. Whether you want to or not.”

She turned her head, unable to bear his red eyes piercing through her any longer, and scoffed, “Ironic that  _ you  _ would be the person demanding I swallow my  _ pride _ .”

After what felt like an unusually long period of silence, she glanced back up at Lucifer to find him staring at her with a complicated expression that she was unable to interpret. It was somewhere between hurt and impressed. She stared into his eyes for a moment, mystified, before he muttered quietly, “I know more on the subject than you might imagine.”

He took a step back, releasing her from her place against the wall, and continued up the stairs. Charlie followed silently after Lucifer, a frown on her face. She had a strange feeling that she had learned something about Lucifer that she wasn’t supposed to know, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was or why. Almost like hearing a melody too quiet to identify.

Charlie looked down at the D.D.D. in her hand, the text notification reminding her of the conversation with Leviathan that she’d been having after the first class.

“ _ Lucifer has something Mammon wants, something he’d kill to get. I’m referring to Mammon’s credit card, which Lucifer took away from him…” _

_ “...There’s nothing Mammon wouldn’t do if it meant getting his credit card back, I’m sure of it.” _

Charlie looked over at Lucifer, “Hey… um…”

He glanced in her direction, the cool smirk forming on his face again, “Hm? You have something you wish to ask me?”

She had to figure out how to phrase this in a natural, subtle way, “I’d… like to know more about Mammon.”

She blushed, knowing this wasn’t entirely a lie. Lucifer’s eyes widened slightly. “Mammon? Why do you want to know about him all of a sudden? Still, I guess it’s only natural, considering he’s the one assigned to look after you.”

He sighed, “Mammon is my brother. I don’t want to say anything unkind about him. So, I’ll try to be sparing in my criticism.”

_ Aw… that’s really sweet! _

Lucifer cleared his throat, “He’s pure scum.”

_ Wait, what. _

“The scummiest sort of scum. Pure, unfiltered, disgusting scum to the point that I’m embarrassed to call him a fellow demon, much less my brother.”

_ That was sparing?! _

“... So, any particular reason you asked, or were you just curious?”

Charlie tilted her head thoughtfully, “What sort of... weaknesses does Mammon have?”

Lucifer smirked darkly, “Are you implying that you think I know his weaknesses, and can exploit them when I like?”

_ Less implying, more stating. _

“Because I suppose that is true in a way. However, that’s not the only reason he can’t say no to me.” He crossed his arms and chuckled, “As long as we’re on the subject, it just so happens that I’ve taken one particular  **weakness** of his and  **frozen** it.”

_ Please tell me you didn’t stick it in the actual freezer because Lucifer I swear to - _

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bell. Charlie looked up as Lucifer said, “That’s the first bell. Class is about to start.”

He stopped in front of a door, opening it for her, “Time to get going”

As Charlie walked past, she stopped and looked up into those red eyes again. Lucifer raised an eyebrow in confusion. Charlie smiled up at him brightly, “Thank you, Lucifer. For everything.” and walked into the classroom.

Lucifer closed the door and turned, walking down the hall on his own. He stopped for a moment. He could feel the heat in his cheeks. He smirked and looked back at the door thoughtfully muttering to himself, “What a curious human….”


	6. Cash or Credit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For translations see notes at the end of the chapter

The rest of the day went by as quickly as the first couple of classes. As she stepped out of her final class, she found a familiar figure leaning against the doorframe, grinning sweetly, “Ready for our da~te?”

Charlie smiled up at Asmodeus as she teased, “Is that what this is? Gotta say I’m disappointed, Asmo. I thought you were more romantic than this”

He giggled in response as she took his extended arm, “Oh,  Cariño, I can be very romantic. But I am also an opportunist!”

Charlie scoffed, “Alright, but don’t try to opportunist your way into the dressing room with me, chico!”

Asmo gasped, “Charlie, ¿hablas español?”

Charlie looked up at him, holding her fingers up and very close together, “Eeeh, un poco”

This was a mistake as Charlie found the Avatar of Lust wrapped tightly around her shoulders, his nose nuzzling into her neck as he cooed, “¡Oh, cariño, eso es  _ tan  _ lindo!”

Charlie’s face caught flame again and she sputtered out, “Fu- Ge- Asmo! Quit it!”

He giggled and pecked her on the cheek, “You know you love it!”

But he acquiesced and pulled away, leaving Charlie to calm her own nerves. As her blush faded to a light pink hue, Charlie tilted her head, “So, I need uniform tops, hopefully some pants,” she ignored Asmodeus’s pouting in response to this and continued, “At least one casual outfit, and an outfit for working out…” she pulled the pack of cigarettes out of her pocket as they crossed the threshold of the school grounds, “Hm, prolly some more smokes too”

Asmodeus nodded, “We can get most of that at Majolish. And ooh, there’s a cute little cafe nearby we can go afterwards!”

Charlie chuckled, “Really going all out for this  _ date _ aren’t you, Asmo?”

He grinned at her and Charlie felt that familiar chill run down her spine. He moved so he was walking a bit closer to her and practically purred, “Of course, mi cariño. I enjoy the hunt as much as the kill”

_ That’s right… no matter how sweet these guys may seem at times… I’m in danger here. _

Charlie lit a cigarette and looked around at the shop filled street that Mammon had taken her through the night before. Asmodeus chirped brightly about all of the outfits and products in the windows. He would occasionally point to one and insist that Charlie  _ had  _ to try it on. They were usually very tightly fitting or revealing club clothing. Charlie would just smile and assure him that she would come back and try them on when she had money of her own to pay for them with.

They finally reached the Majolish shop and Charlie gaped at the sheer size of the building. Of course they would have what she needed. She wondered if there was anything they  _ wouldn’t _ have. Asmo hummed happily as they walked in. The store was brightly lit and smelled like perfume. Charlie glanced around uneasily. She enjoyed shopping…. At army surplus stores.

Asmodeus sashayed through the store paying no heed to Charlie’s discomfort, and picked up a halter top, holding it up, “Ooh! This could be a good casual to- CHARLIE  **NO** ! DON’T YOU  **DARE** !”

Charlie looked up from the pair of cargo pants she was holding and gripped them to her chest as she hissed, “They have  _ pockets _ !” 

She squeaked and took off running as Asmodeus leapt at her. It didn’t take him long to catch her, pulling her into his arms. Charlie was giggling hysterically. Asmo was significantly less amused, “Charlotte Agnes Obermann! You put that pocketed atrocity down this  **instant** !” 

Charlie clung tightly to the pants, “Okay so first of all,” she wiggled, trying to break free from his grasp, “How do you even know my full name?!”

Asmodeus held her like a vice and scoffed, “I’m wounded you would forget anything about me. I’m on the student council. I have access to your file.”

Charlie huffed in annoyance and looked up at him and whined, “Asmooo~ I want the cargo pa~nts!”

Asmodeus frowned down at her, “Charlie, we will find you something with pockets that doesn’t fit like a circus tent. Now… please. Put them down.”

Charlie pouted and released the pants, letting them fall to the floor. Amso gave her a quick squeeze and chirped out, “Good  _ girl _ ! Now, come over here. We’ll start with your school shirts. They have a whole section for RAD Uniforms!”

The pair spent the next two hours locked in a bitter contest of wills. Charlie continually insisted that yes, she did in fact need a larger size while Asmodeus rebutted that no, it was supposed to touch her skin and not hang off her like a sack. They ended up meeting in the middle and getting her two shirts that were the smaller size and two that were the larger. Asmodeus conceded two pairs of dress pants in exchange for Charlie accepting a tight fitting tank top/flannel combo as opposed to the loose T-Shirt she had been hoping for. Asmo found her some cargo capris that fit well in the legs and had an adjustable waist. 

Charlie groaned loudly as they came to the final conflict, “Asmo, I cannot work out in booty shorts!”

Asmodeus glared, “You are  _ not _ going into the gym wearing  _ sweatpants _ !”

“The whole point of going to the gym is to  **_sweat_ ** , Asmo!”

“And you can sweat just fine in these!”

Charlie sighed exasperatedly and looked down at the T-shirt she was holding. She knew she would have to concede somewhere and it was  _ not _ going to be booty shorts.

“Okay how about this,” Asmo eyed her warily, cautious of any bargain that may land outside of his favor, “A smaller size of sweatpants,” he opened his mouth to argue but she cut him off with “ _ AND  _ I will swap the T-Shirt for the sunflower crop top you liked”

Asmodeus looked at the grey sweatpants and then over at the crop top hanging on the rack. After a moment of contemplation he slowly nodded, “Alright. Deal.” Charlie threw her hands up in the air, “Oh thank  _ fuck _ !” she tossed the T-shirt back on the rack, grabbed the crop top and the smaller size of sweatpants and booked it for the cash register. She may have had to take a few losses, but she considered the war won as she walked out with a couple of bags on each arm.

  
  
  


Asmodeus laughed brightly at Charlie’s recounting of the previous night’s events before taking another sip of his latte, “That sounds  _ just _ like Levi!”

Charlie scowled, “Like, okay, don’t get me wrong. He’s pretty cute. Especially when he gets all excited or shy and flustered” Asmo giggled as Charlie added, “But he’s _fucking_ **_rude!_** ”

Asmo smiled slyly at Charlie, “From what I hear, you know ple~nty about being rude.”

Charlie cocked an eyebrow in confusion as Asmodeus giggled, “I didn’t buy those cigarettes so you could blow smoke in people’s faces, dear”

Charlie blushed and averted her eyes, taking a sip of her caramel coffee confectionery, “Well, maybe if he hadn’t been so…. Sleazy”

Asmodeus laughed, “Oh,  cariño, that’s just how Solomon seems. He’s actually quite a doll once you get to know him”

Charlie scoffed, “Sounds like you’re friends”

“Well, we  _ do _ have a pact”

Charlie scowled and took another sip, looking back at Asmodeus to find him smiling sweetly at her. She sighed softly and shrugged, “I’ll try to be more… civil. He just… rubs me the wrong way.”

She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth as Asmo grinned and replied, “Ooh~ well I’ll just have to show him how to rub you the  _ right way _ ”

Charlie blushed and pointed at him, “Quit it!”

Asmodeus giggled and took another sip of his latte, “Alright, alright. I couldn’t help it. You’re so cute when you’re flustered. Though, you shouldn’t scowl so much, doll. You’re going to get wrinkles”

Charlie chuckled, “I like wrinkles”

Asmodeus looked horrified, “You  **_like_ ** wrinkles?! Dios mio, why would you  _ like _ wrinkles?!”

Charlie shrugged, “They’re an indication of a life well lived. Wrinkles, scars, tattoos, all those things are visible proof that you did something” she glanced out over the streets and her voices grew quiet and somber as she added, “Something more than just survive…”

Asmodeus frowned deeply, “You can live well and still take care of your skin!”

Charlie smiled warmly as she giggled, “You sound like my little sister, Alice!”

Asmodeus was taken aback by the soft expression of endearment on Charlie’s face as she continued, “She loves skin care serums, face masks, and makeup - all that really posh girly stuff. We used to have girl nights all the time. We’d braid our hair and paint our nails and do face masks while talking about boys and watching silly videos and,” her eyes seemed to be looking somewhere very very far away, “And talk about how we were going to buy a house and grow old together like the sisters in our favorite movie…”

Asmodeus felt his face heating up as he looked at the expression on her face. She seemed to radiate such light and warmth as she spoke. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had made  _ him _ blush like this - if ever! She just looked so… beautiful, “That sounds… lovely.” He swallowed and leaned forward, trying to regain the upper hand in the conversation, “We could do that, you know? Braid hair and do face masks”

Charlie’s eyes seemed to snap back from wherever they had wandered to look at him and she took another sip of her drink, the warmth from before fading back to her usual demeanor as she smiled at him, “Mhm, that sounds like fun! Alice and I haven’t had a girl night in years now.”

Asmo tilted his head and grinned, “I know the best place to get face masks! They have really nice ones too”

Charlie looked thoughtful, “Do they have rose water ones? Those were my favorite. They smelled so  _ good _ !”

Asmo beamed brightly and launched into a full break down of the various brands and types of face masks and where to get each of them and planning out a regimen for her skin. Charlie engaged with him as much as she was able, but every so often, Asmo would notice a distant look in her eyes. 

Charlie fell onto the bed and groaned. She had  _ finally _ finished putting away all of the clothes that Asmodeus had bought her and getting rid of the clothes that hadn’t fit her. She stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back home. She could already feel the knot forming in her throat as she thought of her younger siblings. How was Alice doing in her classes? Was Keenan still working on his house? Were they worried? Had they even noticed her absence yet?

Charlie sniffled as she turned her thoughts to her current predicament. Here she was with the avatars of the seven deadly sins- Wait.

She held up a hand and started counting. She stopped at six. No, there was no seventh. But Lucifer had said that there were seven. She had only met six… where was sloth?

She looked down from her hand as her D.D.D. buzzed. She picked it up to find a text from Leviathan. 

“You say Lucifer mentioned having frozen something? Are you absolutely sure that’s what he said?”

Charlie glared at the screen for a moment before typing back,

“Yep, I’m absolutely sure.”

“Come to the kitchen. Right now.”

_ Bossy little shi- _

“Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. I don’t want anyone to mistakenly think that I hang out with some human normie”

Charlie scoffed and rose from the bed, shoving the device in her pocket. At least whatever shenanigans were about to ensue would distract her from her previous lines of thinking.

As she entered the kitchen, she could hear the sound of someone eating - though that was a kind word for it. Charlie froze and turned to walk away. If she didn’t see them, they didn’t see her, right?

“Not so fast.”

_Wrong._

Charlie turned to find herself face to chest with the sixth oldest brother. She looked up at him as he inquired, “Are you going to pretend like you didn’t see me here, or is it that you’re planning to go  **tell** on me?”

Before she had a chance to respond he shrugged, “Meh, I guess it doesn’t matter either way. Anyway, what’re you doing in the kitchen so late?”

Charlie pouted and grumbled, “I’m meeting Leviathan.”

Beelzebub’s eyes widened in surprise, “You? Meeting Levi? Really? Huh… that’s surprising.”

Charlie tilted her head and looked up at him inquiringly as he asked, “What? Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Um… well… Lucifer said… there were seven of you… But I've only met six. Who’s the seventh?”

Beelzebub frowned angrily, “... Now listen, don’t you  **ever** mention him in front of Lucifer. Just so we’re clear, I’m not going to tell you anything, either. Lucifer would yell at me if I did.”

His expression grew forlorn as he added, “And don’t bother asking any of my brothers, either. No one talks about  **him** . Even though he’s our brother...”

Charlie felt her heart breaking at the look on his face. She reached out, wanting to wrap her arms around him. He looked away, picking his thought back up with, “... we have to treat him like he doesn’t exist… It’s not right. But since no one can defy Lucifer…”

“Oh honey…”

Beelzebub snapped his gaze back to her, “... You know what? This isn’t any of your business, human.”

His face hardened and he nodded, “I’m leaving. I’ve already eaten everything there was in the refrigerator now anyway.”

He walked past her towards the door, smiling, “I’m pretty sure Lucifer is hiding a poisoned apple in the desk in the study…”

And with that he was gone. Charlie was stunned by the strangely vulnerable giant of a demon. So much that she almost didn’t notice the voice calling out to her, “...psst…. Hey!”

Charlie looked up grinning playfully, “Is that you, God?”

“Seriously? No! Over here! Look!”

Charlie turned and giggled, “What are you doing hiding there?”

Leviathan stepped out into the light and glared at her, “What do you think? Beel was just in here! I can’t have him finding me with  **you** , now can I?!”

Charlie rolled her eyes and scoffed.

_ Here we go again… _

Leviathan narrowed his eyes at her, “Wait, don’t tell me you mentioned that you were meeting  **me** here?!”

Charlie crossed her arms and leaned against the counter smiling smugly, “Yep, I told him.”

Leviathan stepped forward so that he was looming over her, “Noooooo! No no no NO NO! This is AWFUL! WHY did you have to tell him?! WHY?! You idiot!”

Charlie grinned with sadistic glee as she watched him meltdown, “You dunce! You… you normie! You dunderheaded normie! What if people start talking, huh?! What if they start spreading rumors that I’m secretly meeting up with some human normie in the kitchen at night?!”

_ Oh nooooo~ This is the woooorst. _

“Because Ruri-chan may be animated, but she’s the ONLY girl in my life! The only one!”

Charlie chuckled softly up at him. Maybe it was some twisted form of stockholm syndrome, but she was starting to find his little tantrums kind of cute. Leviathan pouted and looked away, “At least it was only Beel. He doesn’t really care what other people do. So he probably won’t go blabbing about it to everyone. That’s the one saving grace hyere. It could be worse, though! What if it’d been Mammon or Asmodeus…?! By tomorrow morning, it wouldn’t just be my brothers gossiping, it’d be all of RAD! Everybody would be like, ‘have you heard? Leviathan pretends to be a reclusive otaku, but he’s actually hanging out with some human.’ ‘is it just me, or does that seem more like something a NORMIE would do?’ ‘Hey, what if he’s not really an otaku? What if it’s all a facade? I bet it is!’ ‘You know, I won this incredible Ruri-chan figurine from a capsule vending machine the other day.’ ‘It’s a special alternate version of her. It’s super rare, and I was planning on letting Levi have it. But not anymore. No way!’ ‘Screw that fake-otaku normie, amirite?! He can go to hell! Lololol’”

Charlie tilted her head, her chuckle growing into a bubbling giggle as she listened to his little scenario spiral into absurdity. He was pitiful by the end of it and she enjoyed watching his distress a bit more than she should have. Still, she deserved something nice after what he’d put her through.

“GAAAAAH, if that’s what people end up saying, my life is over! OVER!”

The poor boy started to hyperventilate and cough before returning to his insults, “Why are humans so stupid?! This is exactly why you end up as food for us demons! You’re all  **idiots** ! Every last one of you!”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, the grin never dropping from her face, “Ya done?”

Leviathan glared at her. “... Yes. I’m done. We need to focus on the credit card! So, it’s really true, right? Lucifer definitely used the word ‘ **frozen** ’?”

Charlie nodded and Levi continued, “In that case, it could only be hidden in  **here** .”

Charlie sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose, clamping her eyes closed as she muttered under her breath, “Of course it is. Lucifer, you walking fucking dad joke.”

Charlie continued to mutter expletives under her breath as Leviathan dug through the freezer. He pulled out a credit card encased entirely in ice and Charlie threw her hands up in the air, “I cannot even with this fucki- He really- God. Damn. It.”

Leviathan held up the chunk of ice and said, “Lucifer wasn’t lying. It really IS frozen. Ugh, it’s super heavy! And big, too!”

_ Do not make a “that’s what she said” joke. Do not make a “that’s what she said” joke. Do not make a “that’s what she” said joke… _

Charlie was so focused on trying to restrain herself, she almost missed Leviathan putting the card in the microwave as he said, “Now, I’ll hit the start button and let the defrosting begin!” 

Charlie raised a hand and said, “Wait that’s no-”

But she was cut off by a loud voice behind her, “What’s with all the racket, you two? … HEY, wait a minute! There in the microwave…”

Charlie turned to look at Mammon as he proclaimed, “That looks like Goldie, my credit card! My baby! The one thing more important to me than life itself! Get it outta there before the microwave demagnetizes it and makes it useless!”

Charlie took a step back as the boys began to bicker back and forth about the fate of the card. Mammon went so far as falling to his knees to beg Leviathan for his card back. Charlie blushed and bit her bottom lip.

_ That… that is a very good look for him. _

Charlie snapped back to reality as Mammon turned his attention to her, “.. And you, human! What’re ya thinking, lettin’ Levi use you like this? Are you stupid? Go on, say somethin’!”

Charlie took a step forward, glaring between the two demons, “Make the pact with me, Mammon.”

“UH-UH, NO WAY! NOT INTERESTED! I am the Great Mammon, Avatar of Greed, on the the seven rulers of the Devildom! Fool… do you actually think I’d let some  **human** be the boss of me?”

Charlie took a deep breath, about to snap, when Leviathan suddenly called out, “Oh  **Luuucifeeer** ! Mammon’s here unfreezing his credit caaaard!”

Mammon shot up from his knees, causing Charlie to jerk back in surprise. He grinned nervously and declared, “I mean,  **of course** I’ll make a pact with you, human!  **I’d be thrilled to!** ”

Charlie felt a strange sensation as the pact formed - like a light internal pressure all over- and then it was gone. She looked between the two demons and said, “Cool, Mammon, give Leviathan his money back.” 

She turned and waved, “I’m going to bed. Leave me alone.” and made her way back up to her room alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> un poco = a little
> 
> ¡Oh, cariño, eso es tan lindo = Oh, sweetie, that is too cute!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your support! I'm really excited for the next couple of chapters. Please let me know what you think as always! (^3^)7 (^3^)/


	7. On Justice and Grace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Descriptions of Violence, Bullying, and some Emotional abuse in this chapter

Charlie woke to the angry tones of her D.D.D. alarm. She dismissed it and grumbled as she rolled out of bed. It was early, far too early. But, she was used to that. After ruffling her hair, she pulled on her gym clothes and grabbed the gym back with her uniform in it. She made her way out to the front of the House of Lamentation. 

The moon hanging high above her did nothing to alleviate Charlie’s grogginess as she lit the first cigarette of the day. Logic stated that most demons would still be asleep at this time of morning, making it safe to take the trek to the gym without an escort. Regardless of whether it was or not, she wasn’t about to try to wake up any of the brothers just to be walked to her destination like a child. She put out the cigarette and started down the steps when a voice called out behind her,

“Where are you going?”

Charlie looked lazily over her shoulder to see Beelzebub standing in front of the door. She blinked up at him, still half-asleep and not feeling particularly chatty, “Gym”

Beel frowned at her, “Shouldn’t Mammon be with you? Lucifer did assign him to look after you.”

Charlie scowled at him, “I’m not a _child_. And it’s too early to deal with him”

Beel looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging, “I’m heading there myself so I’ll walk with you”

Charlie scoffed, “Whatever.” and turned to continue on the path. Beelzebub didn’t seem to be much for conversation so far in her interactions with him - which suited her just fine at this point. She didn’t want to talk.

As they reached the other side of the woods and started down the sidewalks of the town, Charlie lit up another cigarette and took a long drag. Beel looked down at her and commented, “You really should quit doing that if you want to take your workouts to the next level.”

Charlie chuckled, “Not you too.”

Beel shrugged, “If multiple people are telling you to quit, why don’t you?”

Charlie looked up at him with an eyebrow cocked, “Same reason you don’t eat less”

Charlie expected to hurt his feelings with that - stopping the conversation there - but was surprised when a serious expression crossed his face and he grunted in the affirmative, “I see. That makes sense.”

Charlie took another drag of the cigarette and sighed, “I know it’s bad for me… And I know that it’s hindering my workouts…” she looked at the offending stick between her fingers, “... I should try to cut back”

Beel just grunted in agreement and they continued the walk in silence.

  
  


Charlie grunted as she hooked the bar back onto the rack and rubbed her thighs. She glanced in the wall length mirrors to see Beel stealing another glance at her from his place across the gym at the free weights. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t been stealing looks this whole time. He was wearing a loose fitting tank top and honestly, the way his muscles flexed with each repetition was like watching art in motion… or softcore porn.

She took a drink of water and made her way over to the cable machine. She checked her D.D.D, making sure that she had plenty of time before classes started, before hooking the cable to her foot. She assumed the form and lifted her leg to the side, almost a perfect ninety degrees from the other, before slowly letting it down. After a couple more reps of this, she looked up in the mirror to see Beelzebub standing directly behind her. She jumped and looked over her shoulder, “JesUS! Warn a girl would ya?”

He looked down at her frowning, “Your form is slipping. You’re using too much weight.”

Charlie caught her breath and looked over at the machine, “What? No, this is the weight I always-” she let out a startled squeak as she felt a hand on her ribs as Beel cut her off, “Your back is tilting. You should be standing with your spine straight.”

With perfect ease, he held the top half of her body so that she wouldn’t tilt with the motion and commanded, “Try it now”

He didn’t remove his hand as she repeated the motion. She found more of the pressure on her hip and thigh muscles and struggled to lift the weight all the way up. She brought her leg down and looked over as Beel adjusted the weight down to the minimum the machine would allow, “Try it again.”

She blushed and followed his commands. She made the motion again, this time with more ease. He never removed his hand from her side and - as she finished the set - placed the other one on her opposite hip. Charlie turned bright red as Beel ran his hand down her hip and thigh and explained, “You should be fully engaging the muscle groups through this area here.”

_I can think of better ways to engage those muscle groups…_

Charlie nodded, “Ah, yeah. Thanks” before glaring over at the machine, “I just hate how low the weight I can handle is”

Beel chuckled lightly, causing Charlie’s heart to flutter, and said, “You’ll get to the heavier weights. You just gotta keep at it and make sure you’re careful with your form”

Charlie nodded and muttered, “Thanks” before starting the next set.

  
  


After a couple more flustering instances of Beel correcting her form, Charlie finished her workout and hit the showers. As she stepped out of the locker room she found the Avatar of Gluttony waiting for her, also freshly showered and dressed in his uniform, at the entrance to the gym. He smiled as she approached, “I’ll walk you to class” 

Charlie smiled back, a light color to her cheeks “Sure! Thanks!”

As the two began their trek, Beel grumbled, “I’m hungry”

Charlie reached up and placed a hand on her stomach, frowning, “Me too… Where’s a good place to get cheeseburgers around here? Asmo only told me about cafes and like… french restaurants”

Beel looked over at her curiously for a moment before smiling brightly, “I know a couple places that have really good human world cheeseburgers! We can go after classes today if you’d like.”

Charlie was practically drooling at the thought of a cheeseburger, “Oh my god, yes, please!”

Beel chuckled, “You like cheeseburgers, too?”

Charlie lit up like a christmas tree, “Bro, they’re only my favorite food ever!” She grew oddly intense and added “But you gotta be careful who makes them because the ingredients are _so_ importants! Like you can’t go using super lean beef and expect a good burger!”

Beel nodded solemnly, “Yeah, the ingredients are everything. Though, it’s hard to get the good ingredients in bulk because they’re so expensive.”

Charlie hummed in agreement, “That’s true but there is a fine balance between affordable ingredients and cheapskate burgers! It also depends on the cooking method. Grilling is good to give it a smokey flavor but it can also give it a harsh charring flavor if whoever is grilling it doesn’t know what they’re doing. Plus it can dry out the patty a lot easier”

Beel nodded emphatically, “Yeah, but frying can leave you with a greasy, soggy burger”

Charlie held up a finger, “Yes, but that’s only if they don’t do it right! Done right, a fried burger holds more of its juices than a grilled burger and I love a big sloppy burger mess”

She brushed her chin, actually drooling a bit now. Beel frowned and placed a hand on his stomach, “I’m _really_ hungry now…”

Charlie frowned as well, her own stomach forming knots, “Same… Ugh. Is there like a snack machine or something?”

She looked up to see Beel holding a piece of jerky in his mouth and holding a bag out to her, “Want un?”

Charlie blinked in confusion but giggled and took a strip of jerky, “Thank you!”

Beel looked away as she beamed up at him before devouring the jerky. Charlie would have sworn she saw the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks.

  
  
  


Charlie found that Mammon was significantly friendlier to her in class after the events of the previous night. And by ‘significantly friendlier’ she meant that he was blustering about how he wasn’t her servant and that she was just some dumb human that should feel honored that the Great Mammon deemed her worthy of a pact.

This spiel overflowed into the hallways as they walked to the next class. Charlie had pretty much tuned him out and was looking around in boredom when her pace slowed as her eyes fell on a scene that made her blood boil. She stopped and stared, her anger growing by the second.

The first thing that caught her attention was the small female demon with long brown hair, big brown eyes, large round glasses, and a pair of rabbit ears flattened back against her head. Her brown eyes were full of tears as a larger demon held her to the wall with one hand. The larger demon was another shadowed figure, but it was evident that he was laughing as he held a book just out of the smaller demon’s reach. 

Charlie squared her shoulder and reached up, snatching the tie from around her neck and stuffing it in her pocket as she stalked towards the scene. As she got closer, the voices confirmed what she had suspected was happening,

“Please give it back! Please! I said I was sorry for tripping!”

“Pffft! Are you _crying_ Kazzy?! Over a book?! That’s so weak! This is why you’re always getting in everyone’s way, you waste of spa- HEY!”

The demon turned as Charlie snatched the book from his hand. His glowing green eyes looked down to meet her blue one, the gold rings around her pupils practically glowing themselves as she snarled out, “That’s enough. Leave her alone.”

The demon looked around briefly, removing his hand from the smaller female demon and turning his full attention to Charlie, “You’re a pretty stupid human. This isn’t your concern so get lost.”

Charlie stepped past the shadow figure, handing the little bunny girl her book back. She turned, placing herself directly between the two demons, and glared up at him, “Make me.”

The slap of the back of his hand colliding with her cheek echoed through the hall over the quiet chatter of the students talking. Everything fell silent and Charlie reached up, gingerly touching her now bleeding lip. She drew her hand from her face as all of the demons in the hall stopped and stared at the scene. Blood coated her fingertips.

She started to shake, the noise in her throat bubbling over into a dark giggle that grew into a harsh, coarse laugh. She wiped her lip on her sleeve and tilted her head back to look down her nose at the confused demon in front of her, “Baby, if you’re gonna hit me, hit me like you fucking mean it!”

What happened next was an absolute blur of motion. The demon’s eyes flashed green and Charlie flew back, slamming into the wall. She couldn’t see anything but white for a moment before it became hard to breathe. She reached up, trying to reach her throat. But there was something in the way. Charlie coughed and began kicking as the demon tightened his grip around her throat, “First I’m going to rip your limbs off, then I’m gonna make you watch as I devour them, piece by piece. Then I’m gonna rip your fucking throat out you LITTLE - “

There was another blur of movement and Charlie fell to the floor, gasping for air. She looked up to see a blur of bright blonde hair as a Scottish brogue inquired, “You’re going to do _what_ , again?”

Charlie felt the world spinning as she tried to push herself up. She could see blood dripping onto the floor below. The edges of her vision were black, and the darkness was growing quickly. One of her arms buckled and the floor approached quickly, as the darkness overtook her.

  
  
  


The first thing that Charlie noticed was the dull thumping headache as she slowly became aware of her body. She groaned, unsure of what exactly was going on. As her eyes slowly fluttered open, She became aware that she was on something soft. The ceiling above her looked entirely unfamiliar and she turned her head, wincing at the sharp pain of the movement. She was in what appeared to be a nurse’s office, judging from the cabinet, sink, and various medical accouterments on the counter. A voice behind her softly commented, “Good to see that you survived”

Charlie slowly turned her head in the other direction to find the Avatar of Wrath sitting in a chair against the wall. Charlie slowly pushed herself up, pressing a hand to her head to try and suppressed the pain, “What the fuck-”

“You should lay back down. You took a pretty solid hit back there.”

He smiled warmly at her, though she could sense the annoyance lurking behind the expression. Charlie ignored his suggestion, focusing instead on the latter half of his statement the memory slowly pieced together. She was in the hall with Mammon. And then she wasn’t… there was a demon… there was a fight…

As she was piecing together what had happened, she became aware of a muffled voice nearby. She turned and looked at the door quizzically.

Satan noticed her expression and took it upon himself to answer the question she’d yet to ask, “Lucifer is tearing Mammon a new one. He has been since he found out what happened.”

Charlie snapped her head back to look at him, flinching at the sudden rush of pain, “It’s - ah - this wasn’t his fault!”

Satan shrugged and stated plainly, “He was the one who was supposed to be watching you. Everything that happens to you is his fault”

Charlie stared at the door with wide eyes, a memory stirring in her as she lept from the bed, ignoring her body’s protests.

_“What were you doing, Charlie?! Why weren’t you watching them?!” “I… I didn’t know-” “That’s no excuse! You’re the oldest! You’re responsible for them! What if something worse had happened to them?!” “But I-” “Enough! You’ve really let me down this time. You’ve let your brother and sister down as well. I can't tell you how disappointed I am in you right now!”_

“I can’t believe the irresponsibility! I gave you what I assumed was a simple task: take care of one single human! How can someone who is supposed to be _my_ brother be so stupi-”

“ **_LUCIFER!”_ **

The Avatar of Pride turned, stunned that anyone would yell his name in such a disrespectful tone. Charlie stood, swaying gently with the effort it took to keep herself upright in the hallway. Satan stood behind her in the doorway, watching with curious delight.

Charlie looked over at Mammon, her heart breaking and her rage rising. He looked like he was either on the verge of crying or had just finished. She turned her gaze and the full weight of her fury on the oldest brother.

Lucifer cleared his throat, “Charlie, you should be rest-”

“Leave Mammon alone”

All three brothers stared at the woman in awe and confusion. Lucifer was the first to recover, “Excuse me?”

“This wasn’t his fault. Leave him alone.”

Lucifer scowled at her, “Bold of you to presume to tell _me_ what to do. Besides, this was entirely his fault. If he had been paying attention this never would have-”

She cut him off again, much to his chagrin, “I’m not a child!”

Lucifer’s scowl turned into a glare but she continued, “I am a grown ass woman. I am capable of making my own damn decisions and of accepting the consequences of them. Stop treating me like I’m some kind of helpless invalid that needs constant supervision just because you’re worried that your boyfriend is going to be disappointed if something happens to me.” 

This drew a snort from the Avatar of Wrath behind her, but Charlie didn’t shift her focus from Lucifer, “If Diavolo wants to see how the three realms will interact then he has to be prepared for what human-demon interactions _actually_ look like!” 

She wobbled a little but managed to stabilize herself, “Mammon looked away for a second and I picked a fight. That was my choice and if you’re going to punish anyone for it, it’s going to be _me_!”

The dark look on Lucifer’s face sent chills down Charlie’s spine. She had probably gone a bit too far this time. Lucifer took a step towards her, his crimson eyes burning and his aura absolutely stifling. Charlie stood her ground, trying to meet his glare. The tension in the air was so thick it was hard to breathe.

“Um… excuse me”

The voice was small, sweet, and wavered with terror. Charlie and the three demons all turned to find the small rabbit demon from earlier. As the demons turned their attention back to Charlie, they were stunned to see all of her rage replaced with a gentle, soft smile. She walked towards the demon girl, “Hey! Are you okay?”

The girl fidgeted uncomfortably, “I - I should be asking you that! What you did… that was so dangerous! I was really… really worried that Qan had killed you!”

Charlie giggled softly, standing beside the girl, “Nah, I’m not _that_ fragile”

The girl looked down, her eyes filled with tears, “I am… that kind of thing would have killed me… you’re- you’re really strong… for a human. And- and brave. I.. I’m jealous… I wish that I was as strong and brave as you…. I’m just a weak was-”

She stopped as Charlie rested a hand gently on her head, “Hey, don’t talk like that about yourself. You’re adorable!” Charlie grinned brightly, “There is nothing wrong with being small and soft. That’s why big and strong people like me are around. To protect cute little people like you from people like that guy. You don't deserve to be treated that way. You deserve to exist, sweetie.”

The girl looked up at Charlie, her eyes wide in shock. She stared up at the warm, gentle expression on her face and began to tremble, big fat tears rolling down her face. She hiccuped as she sobbed out, “N-n-n-no one ha-has ev-ever s-s-said tha-that to meeeeheeee!”

Charlie reached out and pulled the smaller girl into an embrace, “Well, I’m your friend now, and I’m telling you. And I’ll keep telling you, okay?”

The girl nodded and cried into Charlie’s chest. The whole time, all three demon boys watched in sheer awe of the scene. Charlie was glowing again, the same warmth and beauty that had caught Asmodeus off guard. Satan was fascinated, he had never experienced anything like it.

Mammon was enthralled by her beauty. He, the Great Mammon, had been protected by this small, weak, reckless, brave, beautiful human. His heart was racing and his face was flushed as he watched her holding the other demon. He couldn’t help but envy the rabbit demon.

Lucifer stared in awe at something he hadn’t seen in a very, very long time. She had risked her own well-being - he glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye before returning his gaze to the girls - for not one, but two demons. Neither of whom could offer her anything of value in return. This human, loud, brash, rude, clumsy, and reckless, was glowing with a grace that almost rivaled what could be found in the Celestial Realm. Lucifer could feel all of the tension slowly fading from him, a small smile forming on his lips.

Charlie let the small girl pull away as she looked up at her, “I’m K-Kazmia. But everyone calls me Kazzy”

Charlie smiled down at her, “Charlie. Here, let me give you my number”

Kazzy blushed, “Your number?!”

Charlie pouted playfully, “Well, yeah! We’re friends now, right? So we gotta hang out and talk and stuff”

Kazzy blushed and started fumbling, “Oh! Wow! Okay, right! Yeah, here!”

She held her D.D.D out as though making an offering to royalty. Charlie laughed lightly and took it, pulling her own out in a smooth motion. She entered her number into Kazzy’s device before sending herself a message from it, “There! Text me, okay?”

Kazzy nodded and clutched the device to her chest, beaming sweetly -the ears on her head standing straight up - as she chirped, “I will! Thank you!”

She turned and waved, “I’ve gotta get to class. Get plenty of rest, okay?!”

Charlie waved and grinned back, “I will! Be safe!”

As Charlie watched the other girl turn the corner at the end of the hallway, she felt her legs buckle. She winced and braced to hit the floor, but found instead a soft warmth behind her as an arm wrapped around her waist. Charlie looked up to find Lucifer smiling down at her warmly. For some reason, she found this more unsettling than his previous anger. In an effortless motion, he swept her up entirely in his arms and chuckled, “As I was saying earlier, you should be resting.”

Charlie blushed brightly and clutched her hands to her chest, as if to make herself smaller and easier to carry, “Ah… yeah… um but uh… about-”

Lucifer cut her off as he turned, carrying her back towards the nurse’s room, “Taking into account the entire situation, I suppose I can’t say that Mammon is entirely to blame for the incident. Nor can I say that you are either,” He set her on the bed with a gentleness she would have never imagined him capable of and added, “I will make sure that notes are collected for your remaining classes. Mammon will come pick you up after classes have finished to take you home. For now, Satan will stay with you to make sure you’re safe. You may not be a _child_ ,” Charlie blushed at his teasing tone, “But you are injured. As such, you should rest”

With that he turned and walked out, leaving Charlie baffled and flustered. Satan walked in and resumed his position next to the bed. His expression, however, now seemed more genuinely amused as he commented, “Well, things are certainly more lively now that you’ve shown up."


	8. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violence, body horror (?)

Charlie rested for the remainder of the day. At the end of the class period, Asmodeus burst into the room and fretted over her desperately until Satan chased him away to his next class. Things were mostly quiet until lunch time, when Beelzebub showed up with his arms full of snacks. He gave a few to Charlie and let her know that they would go to the burger places tomorrow. Charlie would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed. She wanted a cheeseburger now more than ever. After he had eaten all the rest of the snacks and left, she slept for most of the rest of the day. 

She woke to violent shaking, “Human! HUMAN! Oy, don’t ya die yet! HEY!”

Charlie groaned and started swatting at him, “Mammon! Quit!”

He released her shoulders and she looked around. Satan was already gone and it was just her and Mammon in the small room. She looked up at him but her annoyance melted when she saw the genuinely frightened look on his face, “Ya wouldn’t wake up… I thought…”

Charlie smiled softly, “I’m fine, Mammon. I was just sleeping kinda hard” She yawned and stretched, but froze when a head landed on her shoulder. Charlie instinctively reached up and gently stroked his silver hair as he grumbled, “Geez… you’re so reckless. Do ya even know how small and fragile you dumb humans are… and even after that low level demon… ya tried to pick a fight with  _ Lucifer _ …”

He let the end of his sentence fade but she knew there was an unspoken “for me” there.

She ruffled his hair softly, “It wasn’t right for Lucifer to punish you for something that  _ I _ did. It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry”

He pulled away suddenly and looked down in her eyes. She turned bright pink at the intensity of his gaze and how close he was. She noticed that he was blushing as well as his eyes flitted over her face, “Y-yeah… well....” 

He stood upright and she had to admit that she missed having him that close. He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head, “Listen, ya gotta stick with me, better okay? And tell me when you’re gonna do things like that so I can…. P-protect you”

She giggled at how cute he was right now, “Yes, Mammon”

He grinned as she rose from the bed, “Good human! Now, let’s go home!”

  
  


The walk home was actually quite pleasant. Mammon chattered happily about the events of the day that she had missed out on and they actually started to talk about other things. It turned out that Mammon really loved cars, an interest they had in common. He puffed his chest and bragged about his baby. Charlie giggled and declared he would have to take her for a ride in it some time. This elicited a blush from the Avatar of Greed. As they reached the House of Lamentation, Mammon followed her to her room and continued the conversation as she went into the bathroom to change out of her uniform. She noticed the blood stains on the new dress shirt and grimaced. As she walked out of the bathroom, staring at it, Mammon looked up from his place reclining on her bed, “Geez, that sucks. Gonna have to get another one.”

Charlie looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, “It’ll wash out. I just have to soak it in cold water for a while”

Mammon shrugged, “That’s too much work. Just get Asmo to buy you another one.”

Charlie smirked, “Please, I barely kept him out of the changing room last time we went shopping together,” this provoked the exact reaction she’s hoped for as Mammon pouted and blushed, muttering about his ‘perv brother’ “Besides, I like doing laundry”

She tossed the shirt back into the bathroom sink before joining Mammon on the bed, “It’s therapeutic.” Mammon scoffed, “You can keep it then. I hate doin’ laundry. Better to just buy new clothes!”

Charlie chuckled and reached out, ruffling his hair, as she said, “Well, if you want to add your clothes to my load I’ll do it for you”

Mammon blushed deeply and leaned into the gentle touch as he grinned smugly, “Yeah? Well, I mean of course ya’d wanna do laundry for the Great Mammon! Maybe you’re a smarter human than I thought”

Charlie giggled brightly, “Maybe,” her thought was interrupted by a yawn which drew her hand away from the demon - much to his dismay, “But for now, I am a tired human. So I should probably head to bed.”

Mammon pouted and rose, “Alright. Well… don’t go dyin’ in the night…” He fidgeted a bit as he seemed to try to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say, “And… don’t go to any of the others if ya need anything. I’m the demon ya got a pact with, after all”

Charlie giggled and replied with a simple, “Yes, Mammon. Good night!”

He blushed and nodded before making his way out of the room.

Charlie fell back onto her pillows, clutching one tightly to her chest and sighing softly as sleep quickly overtook her.

_ Flashes of green and gold pass through her vision. Alice and Keenan are crying. Someone is screaming. Deep red fills her vision entirely. The crying stops, the screaming does not. She looks down. Her hands are dripping with warm blood. She looks up. Her own pale face looks back at her, twisted in horror and agony. Her throat is just a gaping red hole and her limbs are red stubs, strings of flesh hanging where they once were. She looks back down at her bloody hands. A deep British accent inquires coolly, “Why are you screaming? Isn’t this what you wanted?” _

Charlie shot up in bed, panting heavily. She reached up and gripped her throat. She took a deep slow breath, as she found it whole. She reached for her phone, finding it to be the middle of the night. Charlie sighed and rose from her bed, unable to sit in the dark alone any longer. She moved to the door, finding the halls still fairly well lit.

Charlie walked slowly by each door, wondering if the demons inside were awake. She didn’t want to be alone right now but couldn’t bring herself to risk waking someone over a simple bad dream. As she reached the end of the hall, she heard soft music coming from the last door. Charlie stopped and listened when a voice called from within, “Come in.”

Charlie felt a chill in the bottom of her stomach, remembering the last part of the dream. Still, it hadn’t been a suggestion. Charlie swallowed and opened the door slowly to find the large, modern gothic decorated bedroom of the eldest brother. Lucifer was seated at a desk in front of the bed, surrounded by mountains of paperwork. His crimson eyes glanced up briefly as she shut the door behind her. He returned his attention to the paper before him, “You’re up late. Can I help you with something?”

Charlie fidgeted uncomfortably, “Ah… I couldn’t sleep…. And I figured… I owe you an apology”

Lucifer paused and turned his attention fully towards her, “Whatever for?”

Charlie took a deep breath as he inspected her closely, “I… caused a lot of problems today. And I can’t imagine that didn’t at least somewhat fall at your feet. And then, I said some things when I was upset that were a bit…. Uncalled for. And I’m sorry… for all of that.”

She shifted a bit under his gaze as silence lingered over the room. Lucifer chuckled softly, “I accept your apology. Thank you. I have to say, it seems the whole ordeal landed rather in your favor. Kazmia is not a particularly powerful demon, but she does have a rather unique skill set”

Charlie relaxed considerably and smiled softly, “She’s sweet. She reminds me of my little sister.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow and motioned to a white couch next to the desk, “You may come in and have a seat.” He smiled softly at her as she followed his instructions, pulling her legs up to her side on the couch.

“Tell me about your sister.” He reached into a drawer, pulling out two high-baller glasses and a bottle of what appeared to be top shelf scotch. He poured a generous amount in each of the glasses before offering one to Charlie, which she accepted gratefully as she said, “Alice. She’s 23,” she took a generous sip of the whiskey, closing her eyes for a moment to savor the heat of it going down before she continued, “She’s the youngest. There’s three of us. Myself, my younger brother Keenan, and Alice.”

Lucifer took a sip and nodded, “It seems we have something in common”

Charlie chuckled, “We should form a club” she took a deep breath and Lucifer watched as that warm glow seemed to come over her features again, “Our mother left right after Alice was born… and our dad was always working. So most of the time, it was just the three of us. We used to be so close.”

She took another sip and chuckled, “Alice was always so shy and self-conscious. But she’s so beautiful. Seriously, she looks like a sweet little china doll. And she’s smart too. She’s in her second year of college and she has a 4.0 GPA! In economics! I mean, seriously! Little genius that one!” She beamed proudly. Lucifer enjoyed the sight as he took another sip of his drink.

Charlie looked towards the window, her eyes growing distant, “She just got engaged this last year. I like her fiance. He worships the ground she walks on - as well he fuckin’ should… And then there’s Keenan… he’s 25. Absolute troublemaker that one” she giggled brightly, “Constantly into something or other. And knows just how handsome he is. Asmodeus reminds me a lot of him in that respect. Despite the fact that Kee’s been married for two years now, he still struts like he’s the cock of the walk.” She was beaming and radiating warmth and light. Lucifer leaned his cheek on his knuckles and watched her with a smile as she continued, “He’s working on remodeling their first house! Seriously... “ her radiance started to recede and her smile began to fade, “I’m really proud of both of them. They’ve really grown up a lot…”

She went to take another sip of her drink to find it was full again. She hadn’t noticed Lucifer refill it. She paid it little mind and took the sip, turning her gaze back to Lucifer. She tried to smile but the Morning Star could see immense pain in her expression as she said, “They haven’t needed their naggy, overbearing big sister for a long while now”

She tried so hard to play it off as a joke but the tears formed in her eyes despite her best efforts, “Ah… I miss the little shits.” She reached up and brushed the tears out of her eyes. Lucifer watched with a cool expression as he replied, “I understand.”

Charlie looked up at him for a moment, before accepting that he truly did. She took another sip of her drink followed by a deep breath, “Haaaah, I guess… I just always thought we would all get a place and live together for the rest of our lives.” she chuckled bitterly, “But then, nothing really turned out the way I thought it was going to”

“How so?”

She looked up into his eyes for a second before sighing, “Well… I always thought I’d be an artist or a writer… or something like that. But we were always poor when I was growing up and I want to make sure Alice and Kee were taken care of… that they had a chance, y’know? So I went into IT. It was stable and I would make enough to give them all the opportunities they needed. And it worked. I got a good job working for a good company and I was someone important. I managed to pay for Alice’s college and the down payment on Kee’s house… and I made the down payment on a car for each of them. I was even able to take care of our dad…”

She looked down into her drink again, frowning deeply, “And then it just… got to be too much. The pressure of the position, the corporate politics, I imploded.” she scoffed and took a large sip of the alcohol before continuing, “So I took a lower paying position at a shitty little company where I am an over-glorified idiot wrangler. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a… bad job. But I feel like such a fucking failure,” she took another sip of her drink as Lucifer noted the color in her cheeks, “Like… I was supposed to do more with my life, y’know? I was supposed to make something. Do something. Instead, I just survive in mediocrity like a pathetic failure of a human being”

She looked miserable staring into her drink. She didn’t even notice him rise from his seat until Lucifer hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him, “You made a chance for and raised two siblings who were barely younger than yourself. That takes an incredible amount of strength and willpower. I would say you have plenty to be proud of.” Charlie could feel her heart racing as she looked up into his crimson eyes. They were softer than she had seen them before. Lucifer smirked softly, “Besides, if anyone would know a thing or two about failing, you’re speaking with him”

Charlie blinked, “There’s no way”

Lucifer sat next to her, crossing his legs and resting his head on the back of the couch, “I led a rebellion against God in the celestial realm, and it failed. Leading not only myself but all of my brothers to fall here”

Charlie stared at him for a minute in awe, before turning her attention back to her drink, “Well, shit.”

Lucifer laughed - a truly beautiful noise - and held his glass out to her, “I’ll drink to that.”

Charlie chuckled, “To making the best of failure” and held her glass up to his. He clinked the edge of his glass against hers and replied, “To making the best” 

They each took another sip and then began to swap childhood stories about their siblings. Charlie told Lucifer about the time she had to cut bubble gum out of Keenan’s hair, to which Lucifer replied with an anecdote about Mammon getting glue stuck in his wings. As the stories and the drinks flowed, Lucifer noticed Charlie’s eyes begin to flutter with drowsiness.

Charlie was listening to Lucifer recount the time when Asmodeus tried to use sharpies to dye the tips of his wings when she suddenly found a blanket tossed over her. Charlie flailed to free her head, only to be gently swatted in the face with a pillow.

She pulled it down and glared up at the dark haired demon leaning over her, “It’s late. You should sleep. I’ll wake you in time for classes.”

Charlie pouted up at him, “I don’t wanna sleep”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, his tone taking an alluring sternness to it as he said, “Go to sleep, Charlie”

Charlie felt a shiver down her spine and a drunken boldness as she giggled out, “Yes, Daddy”

Lucifer reached down, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger - his eyes darkly lidded as he said, “Be careful that you don’t start something you can’t finish, young lady” Charlie felt her heart leap into her throat. She couldn’t speak, merely nod in response.

With that, he rose and walked back over to his desk, calling out, “Go to sleep”

Charlie tucked the pillow under her head, her last vision before following his commands was Lucifer, bent over his desk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp* A twofer?! I was super excited about this scene and wanted to get it out. I hope you guys like this one! As always, let me know what you think, what you like, what you don't! Thank you!


	9. Mending Bridges and Burning Fences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness I'm so sorry for how long it took me to post this chapter! My muse got a bit of ADD and decided to send me off to other parts of the story. So, I have been working on some goodness for you, my lovelies!
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience! I love you all!
> 
> General discretion is advised.

Charlie woke after a few hours of napping and looked around. She was still in Lucifer’s room but the soft glow that had filled it from the candles was now absent. Only the light of the moon shone in. As Charlie looked around, she noticed Lucifer’s sleeping form in the bed. She rose and folded the blanket that had been covering her, stacking it and the pillow in the middle of the couch. 

Quietly, she tip-toed her way over to the side of the bed, craning her head to find the gentle sleeping face she had hoped for. His hair was disheveled and fell gently over his face, his expression was completely neutral. The covers appeared to have been tossed from his upper body at some point, revealing his half-opened pajama top. Charlie felt a rush of heat to her face seeing him in this state. She slowly, carefully pulled her D.D.D from her pajama pocket. She may never get an opportunity like this again and she would be _damned_ if she was going to let it go to waste.

Without taking too much time to ponder the ironic phrasing, Charlie pulled up the camera app, made sure the phone was on total mute, turned off the flash, and snapped a quick picture. She admired her work for a moment, making sure that the demon still hadn’t woken, and then made a hasty retreat back to her room. 

**  
  
**

Once the door was closed behind her, Charlie looked down at the D.D.D one more time to make sure the picture really came out as good as she thought before making her way to the dresser. A quick shower and a bit of the hair texturizer that Asmodeus had gifted her, and Charlie almost looked like a real person again. She still had a bit of bruising around her neck where the demon had grabbed her yesterday, and felt a chill run down her spine as she looked in the mirror, remembering her nightmare. She took a deep breath to steady herself when her door burst open,

“Hey! Human! Wake u- oh. You’re already awake…”

Charlie chuckled and turned, picking up her bag, “Good morning, Mammon”

He beamed at her brightly, “I see you’ve learned to anticipate when I’m going to arrive and be ready! Man, you’re a better human than I thought!”

Charlie rolled her eyes and made her way past him to the door. The two walked down to breakfast together, Mammon chatting about his exciting new plan to make a lot of money fast. Charlie listened with amusement, not having the heart to point out the obvious flaws and all the ways it was definitely going to fail.

By the time they arrived, everyone else was already eating. The pickings were slim from what was left after Beel had served his plate but Charlie grabbed as much as she could, taking the empty seat between Mammon and Lucifer who sat at the head of the table. Lucifer shot her a mischievous look and greeted her with, “Good morning, Charlie”

Charlie finished her mouthful of unidentifiable demon food and glanced over at him cautiously, “Good morning… Lucifer….”

He took a sip of his water, his smirk growing, “I must say, I’m disappointed. That’s not what you called me last night.”

Charlie froze, her face growing hot. The room grew completely still - even Beel had paused in his eating to witness the scene playing out. Charlie stared straight into his deep crimson eyes, sure that her face matched them in hue.

_He wouldn’t… oh god he would. Please no…._

Lucifer grinned and tilted his head - she could see the sadistic glee radiating from him - as he proclaimed, “I was rather enjoying you referring to me as ‘Daddy’”

_Fuck._

Mammon leapt up and started yelling - though she wasn’t even sure if he was using real words, she could hear Asmodeus giggling and declaring how scandalous this was and how jealous he was. Charlie sat frozen, staring at Lucifer in abject horror and shame.

Lucifer just smirked at her, enjoying his clear victory. Charlie rose from her seat, pulling out her D.D.D. She wrote a quick message, attaching the picture she had taken earlier, and grabbed her bag. As she turned and walked out of the dining room, the sound of Lucifer’s text tone went off.

“How much do you think this would be worth, *Daddy*?”

Charlie grinned, practically feeling the heat of his glare on the back of her head as the door closed behind her.

It didn’t take long for Mammon to catch up to her, but it took the entire walk to RAD to convince him that nothing actually happened between her and Lucifer and that she had just been joking. When they arrived, Charlie noticed that the hallways seemed to clear as they approached. Demons shuffled out of their path, quiet murmurs following behind them. Charlie felt slightly uncomfortable at all the attention as she reached the first classroom. She looked down at her D.D.D absently as she listened to the chatter around her,

“Did you hear the news? Apparently that human forged a pact with Mammon.”

“Seriously? I don’t get it. Why forge a pact with an ordinary human?”

“Well, from what _I_ heard, she fought with Qan!”

“Pfft, no way. Qan is a wrath demon. If she had fought him she would be dead right now”

“It’s true! I saw it with my own eyes! He slapped her and she _laughed_!”

Charlie looked up as a rather proper demon with blue-green hair approached her, “Huh. Whenever you make an important announcement, the demons here couldn’t care less. But **rumors** … they really do spread like wildfire.” 

Charlie studied his face, he looked rather neutral all things considered. His eyes were a murky green color and the only real color to him was a small patch of teal in the hair hanging on the left side of his face. She was reminded of a lagoon she once visited while traveling for work.  


“Just when I thought the uproar about the new exchange student from the human world had started to subside some, now they’re all freaking out about this.”

His long thin eyebrows drew together in a look of mild irritation as he gripped his chin thoughtfully. A familiar voice rumbled from Charlie’s right side, “Come now, don’t say that, Barbatos.”

Charlie turned to find the devil prince smiling warmly, “Actually, I’d say all this gossip is a good thing. It means that everyone will be watching this human, which makes it hard for any demon to go after Charlie’s soul when no one is looking.”

Charlie sighed, once again reminded of her dream from the previous night.

Lucifer approached the gathering, his arms crossed and a look of annoyance on his face, “Yes. Since Mammon’s not doing a very good job as a guardian. I told him he was to look after Charlie, and then he allowed the incident yesterday to occur…”

He narrowed his eyes in irritation, but couldn’t seem to bring himself to meet Charlie’s gaze. Charlie turned her gaze back to the blue-green demon as Diavolo made some comment about her pact with Mammon. The unidentified demon commented, “I suppose it stands as proof that you chose well bringing this human here, Lord Diavolo”

Charlie cocked an eyebrow, unable to keep the grumpy tone from her voice as she said, “Who’re you?”

The demon turned to her. His expression was neutral, but Charlie didn’t miss the fleeting glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he replied, “Ah yes, pardon me. I suppose we haven’t met before, have we?”

Something in the way he phrased that struck Charlie as odd, but she shook it off as he continued, “My name is Barbatos. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I have the honor of serving as steward to Lord Diavolo. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Lucifer commented casually, “Barbatos here is a smart and talented individual, so much so that I wish I could trade a certain idiot brother of mine for him instead.”

Charlie cut her eyes at Lucifer in annoyance as Barbatos replied, “Well, as for your brother, in the human world, it is sometimes said that a truly wise man does not flaunt his talents. He keeps them secret.”

Charlie felt a small twinge of affection for the steward at this comment. However, her annoyance immediately returned as Lucifer retorted, “Yes, but then again, an incompetent fool doesn’t actuall have any talents to begin with.”

This time, Diavolo interjected, “Well, **I’ve** heard it said that the most thick-headed child is always the cutest.”

Lucifer made a comment in response, but Charlie missed it as a beautiful being approached the gathering. She gaped at his dark skin and bright blue eyes, nestled under beautiful night black hair. His face was so soft and beautiful and his outfit - obviously not a RAD uniform - looked as though it was designed entirely around the beauty of his figure. Charlie eyed his exposed shoulders and the defined chest barely covered by his tight, form fitting top. Her eyes skimmed down to his exposed hips before shooting back up to the collar at his throat. 

_Is…. is he supposed to be a slutty priest? Because father, I am going to_ **_sin_ ** _._

The beautiful figure interjected into the conversation that Charlie had completely tuned out of with, “Ah, but I noticed that you didn’t deny the part about him being cute, did you?”

He smiled and Charlie thought her legs were gonna buckle again, “If I might offer my own opinion, out of you seven brothers, **you’re** without a doubt the most troublesome, Lucifer.”

Lucifer glared at the beautiful blue eyed creature, “Is that meant as a compliment, Simeon?”

A voice from right around Charlie’s hip level piped up “Pff,of course not! Duh! That was a put-down! An insult! He’s taunting you!”

Charlie jumped and sidestepped away, looking down at the tiny blonde haired, blue eyed child. He was dressed in what appeared to be an elementary school uniform and a grumpy expression.

_Jesus christ, someone get yo fuckin’ child._

Lucifer regarded the child with an arched eyebrow and evident disdain, “Ah, I see you’ve brought your **chihuahua** along with you.”

“I am NOT a chihuahua! How many times do I have to tell you that, demon?!”

_You seriously could’ve fooled me._

Lucifer smirked darkly, “Well, what do you expect? I **am** a demon, after all. Now then, stop yipping at me. C’mere boy… shake! Who’s a good boy?”

Charlie stifled a giggle as the small boy fussed, “Quit it! Don’t you make fun of me! And don’t tell me to **shake** ! I’m **not** a dog!”

Diavolo stepped in as it looked like the puppy was about to blow a gasket, “Allow me to introduce you, Charlie.”

He gestured to tall, dark, and beautiful, “This is Simeon. He’s an exchange student from the Celestial Realm. Which is to say, he’s an **angel**.”

_He certainly is…_

Simeon smiled warmly at her, “Well, hello, Charlie. I’ve heard a lot of rumors!”

Charlie smiled back awkwardly, “Ah… yeah. There’s quite a few of them…”

Simeon’s expression shifted for only a moment when she spoke. An emotion she couldn’t quite place mixed with shock. Then, it was gone as quickly as it had come, though his smile seemed a bit different now as he looked at her. Charlie opened her mouth to say something about it when Diavolo continued, “And this is Luke. Let’s see, you’re… a **chihuahua** , was it? Or are you an angel?”

Luke flushed bright pink and exclaimed, “Wh-! Diavolo, now YOU’RE getting in on the act, too?! I am NOT a chihuahua! I’m an angel! Listen up!”

He turned his attention to Charlie and puffed himself up as big as he could, “As you can probably tell, I’m a low-ranking angel. BUT I’ll have you know that in the Celestial Realm I report directly to Michael the Archangel, as- “

Simeon cut the younger angel off with a stern expression, “Luke, calm down. You need to learn not to make such a huge fuss about everything.”

“But Simeon - !”

Lucifer interjected smugly, “He’s right. That’s exactly why people call you a chihuahua, you know?”

Luke glared up at him, “Usually the only one who calls me chihuahua is YOU, Lucifer!”

Barbatos took a step forward, “It’s nearly time for the first bell to sound.”

Simeon smiled warmly at Barbatos, “Yes, you’re right.”

He turned to Charlie, his smile growing strange again, “I apologize for any trouble we’ve caused, Charlie.”

As the group said their farewells and departed, Charlie noticed Simeon casting a glance over his shoulder at her. She frowned and turned, nearly jumping out of her skin as she noticed the tiny angel right in front of her, “JeSUS! You are SMALL!”

Luke pouted up at her and muttered, “Never trust…. Mmrnmhrm….”

Charlie raised an eyebrow and leaned down, “Sorry, what?”

Luke turned bright pink and fussed, “Hey! Don’t lean down toward me like an adult listening to a child! You don’t need to come down to my level! I’m not a kid!”

_Bro you’re like three feet tall. Speak up or go away._

He clenched his fists, recovering from his flustered stated before he repeated, “Never trust a demon. Especially when that demon is **Lucifer**. Listen to me. He’s a monster and a brute. He’s uncivilized, immoral, and… and also…”

Charlie scoffed, remembering the encounter that morning, “And also a sadist?”

Luke nodded emphatically, “Yes, exactly! He’s the most sadistic of sadists!”

He shook his head and pouted, “I was against this from the beginning. What are they thinking, bringing humans to the Devildom as exchange students…”

He sighed and glared up at her, “So, you’ve been warned. You get what I’m saying, right? Okay”

Charlie scoffed as the tiny angel trotted out of the classroom. 

_What a little prick._

Charlie drifted off into a daydream about the beautiful dark-haired angel boy until class started, when she was drawn back into the course material. While class managed to hold her attention for the majority of the session, Charlie noticed her thoughts wandering back to those beautiful blue eyes and the strange smile Simeon had given her. When the bell rang, she sighed and rose, finding Mammon already at her side, “Hey! I saw you talking to the chihuahua earlier!”

Charlie snickered, “Yeah, he was whimpering so quiet I had to lean down to hear him”

Mammon grinned, “Ah, you don’t like him either, huh?”

Charlie scoffed, “He’s a brat. And not the cute kind like _some people_ ” she grinned at him teasingly.

Mammon looked over at her blushing and confused, “Hey, whattaya mean ‘some people’?! Which people?”

Charlie giggled, “Don’t worry abou-”

She froze as she noticed a familiar figure in the crowd. Mammon turned to look at what had caught her attention when Charlie took off running.

“KAAAAAAAAZZZY!”

The tiny rabbit demon shrieked as the giant human threw her arms around her. Charlie giggled as Kazzy looked up at her with teary eyes, “Aaaah~ Ch-charlie! You-you sc-scared meee!”

Charlie frowned, “Aw, sorry Kaz. I just wanted to say hi!”

Kazzy sniffled and blushed, “Ah.. H-hi!”

Charlie tilted her head, “This isn’t making you uncomfortable, right? I can let go-”

“NO!” Kazzy blushed realizing how loud she was. She flattened her ears against her head, “It… it’s nice…”

“HEY! HUMAN!” Charlie turned as Mammon caught up to her, “What the hell?! You running off is what caused that whole mess yesterday! It’s like ya wanna get me in trouble or... Hm?”

Mammon looked down at the now petrified rabbit demon in Charlie’s arms, “Haaah? Don’t tell me you took off running like that just to see Kazzy!”

Charlie had to suppress a giggle at the jealous, blushy pout on his face. Charlie reached out, throwing an arm around Mammon’s shoulders and pulling him into the hug as well, “Aw, don’t worry Mammon! I have plenty of affection to go around!”

Mammon scoffed, blushing deeper, “Bah! As if I would want a-any affection from a stupid human!”

Charlie giggled, taking note that he wasn’t even attempting to pull out of her grip, and looked over at Kazzy, “So, chickadee, whatcha doin’ for lunch?”

Kazzy fidgeted and looked away, “Ah… um… pro-probably j-just eating alone in the cl-classroom…”

Charlie pouted, “Nope.”

“N-Nope?”

“Nope!” she beamed warmly, “You’re gonna come hang out with me and Mammon for lunch. Right, Mammon?”

The silver haired demon blushed deeper and looked away as Charlie released Kazzy to wrap her other arm around him, “Geez… I guess I got no choice, huh?” He reached out, placing a shaky hand on Charlie’s waist, “It’s your treat, right?”

Charlie scoffed, “You know I don’t have any money, Mammon”

Kazzy watched the two bicker with a pang of jealousy and frustration. She couldn’t understand why Charlie was being so nice to Mammon. She had heard of his antics and saw the results of some of his scams first-hand. Kazzy agreed with the general consensus that Mammon was a scummy idiot of a demon. Still, he was the second strongest of the brothers and third strongest demon in all of Devildom. 

But Charlie didn’t seem to care about that kind of thing. After all, she treated Kazzy with the same kindness. So why? What was she after? Were all humans this confusing?

Kazzy squeaked in surprise as she found herself in Charlie’s embrace once more, “Kaaa~zzy! Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

“Ah… I was just thinking… if-if you need money I work part time a-at Hell’s Kitchen after c-classes. I could… could help you get a job there… if you wanted…”

Charlie squealed and nuzzled the little rabbit demon, “You’re so _sweet_ , Kaz!” This earned Kazmia a death glare from the Avatar of Greed. She laughed nervously.

This human was going to be the death of her.


	10. Get Your Nerd On!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness I know this has taken forever but I promise you, my lovelies, that I have not forsaken you! Thank you so much for all of your continued support and loves!

The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Lunch time left poor Kazzy a nervous wreck after Charlie and Mammon somehow ended up in a food fight over whether chicken nuggets or chicken tenders were superior. Technically, Charlie won the confrontation. However, everyone lost when Lucifer showed up and forced them to clean up the entire dining hall. The later classes dragged on a bit as Charlie remembered that she had a ‘date’ with Beel afterwards. She was practically drooling through the entire last period. 

When the final bell rang, Charlie shot out of her seat and pulled out her D.D.D as she rushed to the door. She was pulling up Beel’s contact in the chat app when she ran head first into what felt like a warm, squishy wall. Charlie looked up, not taking a single step backward, to find herself face to face with the very demon she had been trying to message. Beel looked down at Charlie with an adorably confused expression. She just grinned up at him, “Burgers!”

Beel couldn’t help but smile back in return as he took a step back, “Sounds like you’re ready to go.”

Charlie brought her hands up, placing her chin into her palms as she followed after him, “I cannot  _ begin _ to tell you how **ready** I am! I love cheeseburgers so much! I am gonna eat  **so many** !”

Beel chuckled and with that, the two began their rampage on the poor, unsuspecting restaurants. The first place they went had to close shop for the day after preparing Beel’s order. Charlie found the burgers to be decent, though they weren’t the level of sloppy cheesy, beefy indulgence that she had hoped for. Beel agreed with her assessment as they made their way towards the next restaurant. The next restaurant faired a bit better seeing as Beel was a regular there. This was evident by the way the wait staff almost burst into tears when they saw him walk in. Their burgers were much closer to the quality that Charlie was hoping for, but she did find the spice mix they used on the meat to be too strong and masked the flavor of it. 

“I’m not saying they were bad,” Charlie said as they approached their final stop, “They were really good burgers… just not the perfect burger”

Beel nodded, “I understand. It’s hard to find a perfect human world burger in the Devildom. Hell’s Kitchen is definitely close in my opinion”

Charlie looked up at Beel and smiled, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to-” she stopped when she spied a familiar demon carrying several plates of food.

Kazzy wobbled across the floor, barely able to carry the overloaded tray. She felt something wrap around her ankle - pulling it out from in under her. She shrieked as she spun, falling backwards. This would be the third time this week she’d fallen. She just knew she was about to lose her job as she closed her eyes to brace for the impact with the floor. Kazzy opened her eyes when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Her face flushed when she found Charlie holding her in one hand and the tray of food above her head with the other hand. “Ch-Charlie!”

Charlie lifted Kazzy up so that she was standing upright again and grinned, “Hey, Kaz! Beel and I were just stopping in for some food.” Charlie nodded to the frowning Avatar of Gluttony and continued, “But it looks like you could use some help.”

Kazzy’s heart was racing as she nodded slowly. Charlie turned to Beel, “Why don’t you go ahead and grab a seat and order and I’ll see about helping out a bit so the food gets out quicker, okay?”

Beel looked between Kazzy and Charlie and grunted, “Alright, sure” before walking over to a table in the corner. Charlie turned to Kazzy and smiled, “Alright, show me to the employee area”

In a few short minutes, the manager had agreed to let Charlie assist for the day and to decide on an extended arrangement depending on her performance. Charlie had taken off her RAD uniform jacket, thrown on an apron, and hopped to work. Beel couldn’t help but notice how she seemed to gain an accent that mirrored his own southern drawl when she spoke to the customers. Kazzy had come over to take his order but was astounded when he told her he wasn’t hungry. She couldn’t help but notice his eyes never left Charlie as she flitted around the store. Kazzy caught herself stealing more than the occasional glance as well. Charlie was always bubbly and energetic around the rabbit demon but there was something electrifying about her right now. It was as if she had gained superpowers when she put on the apron. She seemed to fill the entire restaurant with her presence; joking and quipping with each table, dancing along to whatever song was playing on the jukebox as she carried plates back and forth, humming along to the tunes she knew. Everyone in the building seemed to be affected by the mere presence of this human. Kazzy had never gotten such good tips in her life.

After a couple of hours of working, the next shift came in to take over and Charlie flopped into the chair across from Beel, grinning brightly, “That was  _ fun _ !”

Beel smiled softly at her and replied, “You definitely looked like you were enjoying yourself…” he tilted his head as he inquired, “Why did you have an accent, though?”

Charlie looked up from the wad of cash she had been counting and blinked, “Hm? Did I?” She giggled, “Ah, sorry. I suppose I don’t pay attention to it when I’m serving. I actually have a natural accent. I grew up in the south so it was hard not to. But when I got older, I learned how to neutralize it so people would take me seriously.”

Beel frowned, “I like it. You sound cuter when you have an accent”

Charlie blushed brightly as she mumbled, “Well, ain’t you sweet…”

Beel chuckled and tilted his head, “That’s better… I’m hungry”

Charlie giggled brightly, “Me too! Let’s try these burgers you were telling me about!”

It could have been the hunger built up from working, but Charlie found the burgers from Hell’s Kitchen to be the exact burger experience she was looking for. She almost matched Beel in how many she ate… at least, as much as her human stomach would allow her to. 

After the great burger raid concluded, Beel and Charlie made their way back to the House of Lamentation, chatting happily about the cheeseburgers they had eaten as well as the ones Charlie had had in the human world. Beel was already hungry again by the time they crossed the threshold of the house and stole away towards the kitchen, leaving Charlie to her own devices. Charlie made her way first towards Asmodeus’s room to pay him back for the clothes he had bought her. However, hearing muffled giggles and coos through the door, Charlie decided she would pay him back another time. She considered visiting with Mammon but decided that he would probably just complain about her presence the whole time and decided instead to take refuge in her own room.

As Charlie closed the door behind her, she looked around the empty room with a small frown. She didn’t like how quiet it was. She plugged her D.D.D up to charge and threw herself onto the bed, pulling out her homework. She had already gotten quite a bit of it finished during her free period and it didn’t take her long to complete the rest. Whoever had been responsible for collecting notes from the classes she’d missed had done an extremely thorough job and it took her a little over an hour to be completely done with all of the homework… for the rest of the week.

Charlie sighed softly and looked at the time. It was almost 9pm. She decided it was late enough that she could change into her pajamas and attempt to go to bed. She would just do what she did back home and watch dumb videos until she fell asleep. She installed the demon equivalent of YouTube and started browsing the videos. Unfortunately, none of them were particularly interesting to her. She locked the device and tossed it on the floor next to the bed, sighing deeply. She didn’t even have access to her music here. She stared up at the dark leaves of the tree, growing more and more uncomfortable. After what felt like an eternity of laying in the quiet, Charlie rolled over and checked the D.D.D., expecting at least a half an hour to have passed. She frowned deeply to find she had been lying there for all of two minutes.

Charlie threw an arm over her eyes and groaned. She hummed quietly to herself in an attempt to put herself to sleep when she heard a soft, vague familiar voice.

“ _...elp me…” _

Charlie stopped humming and held completely still, barely breathing until she heard the voice again. “ _ Help me” _

Charlie rose from her bed and looked around. A heavy sense of deja vu overtaking her as she listened for the voice. It came again and she turned, wandering out into the halls. She followed the soft sound as it slowly got louder and louder.

Charlie found her way to a stone spiral staircase. As she approached the stairs - intently focused on listening for the voice - a hand suddenly grasped her shoulder. Charlie let out a shriek in surprise and whirled, tripping on her own feet and falling backwards. A strong arm caught her waist and she found herself face to face with the Avatar of Pride.

He lifted her up with what appeared to be no effort, “Charlie.”

There was a loud banging noise from up the stairs and Charlie turned to move towards it as Lucifer said, “Stop right there. You’ll go no farther… that’s not a place for humans. It’s dangerous”

Charlie turned as he narrowed his eyes at her, “Go back to your room”

_ You’re not the boss of me! _

“No.”

Lucifer glared at her for a moment before he burst into laughter. Charlie blinked at him in confusion as a blush spread across her face. Lucifer smiled down at her as he commented, “Interesting. I think I’m starting to understand why  **you** were chosen to come here. But you can’t say  **no** .” He leaned down to eye level with Charlie, a dangerous tone to his voice as he said, “Because I’m not giving you a choice.”

Charlie swallowed and glared back at him as he rose back to his neutral position looming over her, “Now then, back to your room. If you value your life, you’ll do as I say.”

_ Bold of you to assume I value my life… But I won’t find anything out if I’m dead… _

Charlie huffed and turned, stalking back to her room. She flopped back into her bed and stared up at the leaves, the infuriating silence filling the room again. Charlie rolled over, resuming her quiet humming as she tried to force sleep to take her. She didn’t move for over an hour before finally she rose again. 

There was no way that Lucifer would still be there this long. She could just sneak up the stairs and find out what was hiding up there. Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed as Lucifer once again found her and sent her back to bed under threat of bodily harm. Charlie laid in bed scowling. She wasn’t going to get anywhere until something was done about Lucifer. As her mind set to work trying to formulate a plan to get to the top of the steps, Charlie didn’t even notice sleep overtake her.

_ The sky fills her vision. Somehow it is both the bluest mid-day and darkest midnight sky she has ever seen. The sensation of gentle fingers running along her bare arms. That strange smile, sad but relieved at the same time. His lips are moving but no sound comes out. A summer breeze touches her lips. Charlie gasps as hands run down her side, barely a feather’s touch as he traces gentle circles on her skin with his fingers. She can feel the heat from his bare skin all over her body. He pulls away from the kiss. Why is he so sad? He peppers kisses along her neck, down to her collarbone. His hands move up to her face, gently sliding into her hair. He touches her like she is a bubble, ready to pop at the slightest mishandling. She is alone as she falls through the sky - blue and midnight black. _

Charlie rolled over and slaps at the D.D.D until the alarm finally shuts off. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair as she remembered her dream. 

_ Okay so I’m lusting after an angel… this is like quantum sinning right here. _

With a sigh, Charlie began to prepare for her day. She stopped to check her reflection on the way out and was happy to see the bruises around her neck were fading very quickly and would most likely be gone in the next couple of days. She made her way down to the dining hall unaccompanied to find that only Mammon was present.

Charlie took a seat at the table as Mammon began his daily complaints. Today’s topic was how unfair it was for him to have to sit there and look at Charlie while he was trying to eat because she was a delicacy to a demon. Charlie had to contain her smirk as the boy sat there accusing her of being a literal snack. She glanced around the table as she lazily asked, “Where’s Beel?”

Charlie regretted the question as it sent Mammon on a whole new tangent, “Speakin’ of Beel, that reminds me. He went and ate the custard I left in the refrigerator - the one I was saving for later! I told him NOT to eat anything that had my name on it! Ugh, I’m gonna kill him!”

Charlie rolled her eyes and looked off into the distance, thinking about the stairs again when Mammon called out, “Hey, pay attention when I’m talkin’ to ya, dunce!” 

_ Aaand we’re off. In record time, today. I wonder who picked on him this time… _

“Or do those ears of yours not work?! Anyway, I’m sure the others have already scurried off to class and left me to look after ya on my own, the punks.”

_ Aw, you poor thing. _

Charlie chuckled internally at her own sarcasm and let her mind wander back to the stairs. She didn’t have enough information. She’d have to have a cohort… someone who knew Lucifer better than she did. She glanced at Mammon as he finished a tirade about how everything was Lucifer’s fault and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't the most knowledgeable of the brothers but... he would definitely be the easiest to get to do as she wanted.

“What’s at the top of the stairs?”

Mammon glared at her, “HEY, I TOLD you to LISTEN to me when I’m TALKIN’ to you! I was tryin’ to tell you about Lucifer’s fe- Wait, what stairs? Are you talkin’ about the stairs that lead up into the attic?” His expression shifted to one of worry as he said “Oh man, there you go again, stickin’ your nose where it doesn’t belong…”

Charlie tilted her head curiously as Mammon took a deep breath and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair as he looked her dead in the eye, “Now listen, do you know the secret to getting people to tell you stuff? Go ahead, tell me.”

Charlie scoffed. She knew the answer but she also knew the answer  _ he _ was looking for, “Money.”

Mammon nodded and grinned, “EXACTLY! Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about! I guess you DO get it! If ya wanna pry valuable information outta someone, you’ve gotta offer ‘em proper compensation!” He paused as a look of realization crossed his face, “Wait a second… Uh-oh, I know what this is about!”

Charlie smiled as innocently as she could as Mammon said, “You tried to climb those stairs, but  **Lucifer** stopped you, right? That’s totally it, isn’t it?” Charlie cursed internally as he puffed up his chest and declared, “Well, then there’s something you really need to get straight now. If you think you can just offer Mammon here a little bit of money and he’ll spill the beans, you’re dead wrong.”

Charlie frowned at the silver haired boy as he continued, “I mean, pretend I told you somethin’ I shouldn’t. Lucifer would beat me half to death.”

He winced, “Actually, I’d be lucky if that’s all he did. If I WEREN’T lucky, he’d have me eliminated. It’d take a good two hundred million years to recover from that.”

He reached up and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Still, if you’re bound and determined to buy this information off of me. Then you’ll have to offer me, let’s see…”

He beamed dopily, “How about the monetary equivalent of the world’s total oil production? Two hundred million years’ worth. That might do it.”

Charlie glared at him as he said, “In other words,  **I ain’t gonna tell ya.** Is that clear enough for ya, blockhead?”

Charlie leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm and grinning deviously at him, “Huh. Afraid of Lucifer, are you?”

Mammon uncrossed his arms, slamming his hands on the table, “WHAT?! Whoa, what’d you just say? You think I’M actually afraid of Lucifer?! Me, the Avatar of Greed?”

He scoffed, “You’ve gotta be kidding! I’m not the least bit afraid of him, got it? Not even a little!”

Charlie tilted her head slightly as she cooed at him in her most patronizing tone, “Be honest, though. You’re scared, aren’t you?

Mammon learned forward, “I told you, I’m not! I mean, that’s crazy! Listen now, most of the time, I don’t let people see the full extent of my power!”

Charlie couldn’t believe how easily he was falling into her trap as he continued to bluster, “What I’m sayin’ is that even if I did face off against someone like Lucifer, I wouldn’t even have to use all of my strength to win! Understand?!”

There it was. Charlie closed her eyes and chirped happily, “Then tell me what’s up those stairs.”

Mammon stood, declaring loudly, “All right, fine! I will! You can’t get up the stairs because Lucifer’s blocking the way, right?! You need to do somethin’ to get rid of him, right?!”

Charlie nodded emphatically and Mammon continued, “Well, guess what? Distracting Lucifer is easy as pie! Listen up, ‘cause I’m only gonna say this  **once,** so, clean the wax outta your ears for a change and pay attention!”

_ Cocky brat… I hate how cute this is… _

“You know that series Levi likes? What was it called… um…  _ The Tale of the Seven… Seven…”  _ he scrunched his face up as he tried to remember, “ _ Seven Way to Get Rich Quick _ … wait, no. That’s the book I was reading the other day.”

_ You can read? _

Charlie squinted at Mammon and corrected him, “ _ The Tale of the Seven Lords _ .”

“Right, yeah. That’s the one. Anyway, you need to get your hands on a vinyl edition copy of the soundtrack for that Tale of the Seven whatsawhosit.”

_ Why am I so attracted to this boy? What is wrong with me? He opens his mouth and dumb comes out and I just want to-  _

She was pulled from her thoughts as Mammon grinned and declared, “If you have that, you can use it to distract Lucifer no problem!”

_Oh yeah... that's why. He's adorable._

Charlie felt her face heat up as he smiled. Mammon shrugged and added, “Don’t ask why, ‘cause I’ve got no idea why Lucifer’s interested in somethin’ like that either. But if you wanna climb those stairs, you’re gonna have to start by gettin’ your hands on that soundtrack.”

Charlie tilted her head and smiled sweetly at him, “Help me do it.”

Mammon blinked, a look of confusion crossing his face, “Wha? I don’t understand. Why should I help you?”

_ Because that wasn’t a request? _

“If ya want that soundtrack, then go find Levi and work it out with him yourself, dummy. Welp, time for me to go. As much as I hate goin’ to class, I don’t have much of a-”

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him envisioning grabbing him and dragging him by his sloppily tied necktie, “Mammon. Come. Here.”

Mammon froze in place. He started to drag himself towards Charlie, “HEY! Wh-what’s goin’ on?! Dammit, my body… it’s movin’ on its own!”

He growled, “F-Fine, all right! I’ll go with you, okay?! It feels like you’ve got some kinda invisible cord tied around my neck!”

Charlie smirked, envisioning another sharp tug on his necktie, “Aaah, stop pullin’ on it! I said  **stooooooooop** !”

Charlie rose and turned, leading him out by his invisible necktie. As they ascended the stairs, Mammon whined and complained the whole way. Charlie turned and released the grip on the imaginary necktie as they approached the desired door, causing Mammon to topple backwards, “Ow! Hey, what the hell?! Ya coulda at least given me a little warning before lettin’ go! I hit my head just now, ya know?!”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “You wouldn’t have hit your head if you had just come along when I asked you nicely.”

Mammon stood up and shot Charlie a quick glare before brushing himself off and replying, “I can’t believe you decided to go straight to Levi and ask him for the soundtrack… You really don’t have any patience, do you?!”

Charlie crossed her arms, “I prefer to consider myself decisive. Now, what do we need to do to get our hands on this soundtrack?”

Mammon scoffed and shrugged, “First of all, there’s no way Levi’s gonna agree to lend you his Tale of whatever-it-was vinyl soundtrack.”

Charlie scowled as Mammon continued, “Actually, he ain’t even gonna let you inside his room. I’m sure of it!”

He pointed in her face and Charlie had to resist the urge to bite his finger as he said, “Don’t go thinkin’ that everything’s gonna go your way ‘cause ya want it to! You know what your problem is? I’ll tell you-”

A muffled voice from within the room said, “Mammon, you jackass…”

Mammon puffed and turned, “What?! Who said that?! I’m not a jackass, or an idiot or a scumbag or a money-obsessed moron!”

Charlie covered her mouth in concern at the specific nature of the insults as Mammon said, “Which you didn’t actually call me, but still!”

Charlie turned to look at the door as Mammon looked around “Hold on, I recognize that voice. So, where ARE you, anyway?”

“You’re making way too much noise, Mammon. Would you do me a favor, and NOT stand outside my door being loud? I’m in the middle of watching the best scene of  _ The Magical Ruri Hana: Demon Girl. _ ”

Charlie pouted and muttered, “That sounds like a super cute show….” while Mammon grumbled, “Levi, we need to talk to you. Get off your ass and come to the door!”

“No.”

Mammon scoffed and placed his hands on his hips, “See? See? What’d I tell ya? He won’t even open the damn door for us.”

Charlie looked over at Mammon with an annoyed expression. She was beginning to believe she had chosen her assistance for this particular mission rather poorly. Mammon gestured at the door, “Don’t just stand there, Charlie. Try sayin’ somethin’ to him.”

Charlie sighed and turned to the door, she whined out pitifully, “Leeeviii, I need to borrow your TSL soundtrack!”

“No.”

Mammon groaned, “Ugh, come on… That was  **awful** .”

“Fuck you!”

“You’re not supposed to tell him why we’re here. He’s not the kind of guy who does favors if you ask him.”

Charlie huffed, “You weren’t doing any better!”

She turned as a figure approached them. Charlie felt her shoulders tense as the sorcerer spoke, “Hey, I was wondering who that was out here in the hall. So, it’s the pair everyone is talking about ....”

He wore a bored expression until he locked eyes with Charlie. He shot her a sly smirk and a wink causing Charlie to flinch and press her lips into a thin line as she cut her eyes away. She looked instead at Mammon as he tried to catch up, “Wha? Oh, Solomon, it’s you. What do ya mean by that?”

Solomon’s expression returned to its previous bored expression, with a hint of annoyance as he replied, “I’m referring to the rumor regarding a certain human by the name of Charlie. A human who looks very ordinary at first glance, but has already managed to make a pact with a demon, despite having only just gotten here.”

He cut his eyes at Charlie before smiling and adding, “Apparently this demon must be a real idiot, because he let a human discover and exploit his greatest weakness, and was then tricked into forging a pact.”

Charlie looked over Solomon’s face with a raised eyebrow. Was that… jealousy she heard in his voice?

Mammon burst out laughing, “What demons is that? He must be a total numbskull! Ha, what an idiot!”

Charlie slowly turned her face to Mammon incredulously. She stared in awe for a moment before the realization hit the Avatar of Greed, “Wait, you’re talkin’ about ME!”

_ Why are you the way that you are? _

Mammon bristled at the sorcerer, “Anyway, what’re  **you** even doin’ here, Solomon?”

The amusement faded from Solomon’s countenance, though he maintained a slight smirk as he replied, “I’m here because Levi invited me”

It was Charlie’s turn to bristle as Mammon declared, “Wha? Levi invited YOU? To his room? No way, I don’t buy it.”

Solomon caught sight of Charlie’s irritation and his smirk grew as he stepped towards her, “I’m afraid it’s the truth.”

He reached past Charlie, knocking on the door behind her, “Levi? It’s me.”

He maintained his smug expression and eye contact with Charlie as Leviathan inquired, “What’s the secret phrase?”

“‘The second lord…”

“Attempted to steal the Lord of Corruption’s platypus, which could lay golden eggs…”

“...having incurred the wrath of the Lord of Corruption for this misdeed…”

“... it was ordered that the second lord would be forever dubbed The Lord of Fools’. Secret phrase authenticated. You may enter.”

Solomon never broke eye contact with Charlie, though he was very aware of the confused and irritated demon behind him. His smirk grew and he moved fluidly past Charlie towards the door. He turned as he passed and gave Charlie another wink, “Well, guess I’ll see you two later. Bye.”

The smugness in his voice made Charlie’s stomach knot up in frustration and her fists clench at her sides. She glared at the sorcerer until the door closed completely behind him before whirling to face a rather dejected and confused looking Mammon, “What were they even talking about just now…?”

A look of realization crossed his face as he said, “Wait a minute… That was the secret phrase! They gave it away, didn’t they?!”

Mammon grinned, “Excellent. All right, try saying what Solomon did.”

Charlie crossed her arms and sighed, “I don’t think it’ll be that easy, Mammon.”

“Why are ya arguin’ with me? Just do it!”

Charlie huffed and turned, knocking on the door. On cue, Leviathan called out for the secret phrase.

“The second lord…”

Levi made an obnoxious buzzer noise, “Secret phrase authentication failure. Access denied.”

_ If this weren’t so infuriating, this whole ‘Secret Phrase’ schtick would be absolutely adorable…. _

Mammon threw his hands up, “Wha? Wait, that was totally right! It’s exactly what Solomon said!”

Leviathan stated simply, “The secret phrase is periodically reset.”

Mammon frowned, “You’re saying it’s a one-time password? Seriously?!”

Leviathan scoffed, “Maybe you should come back after you’ve at least watched TSL on DVD.”

Mammon groaned, “Ugh, come on! What the hell, Levi?!”

He turned to Charlie and sighed, “I don’t understand exactly what’s goin’ on here, but from what I can gather… basically Solomon just proved to Levi that he’s a total TSL nerd too, so now they’re buddies.”

Charlie scoffed and grumbled to herself, “I’m a nerd but that otaku bastard won’t be  _ my _ friend…”

Mammon ignored her and continued, “Which means that if you wanna borrow that soundtrack from Levi…”

He pointed at Charlie dramatically, “Then you’re gonna have to do what Solomon did, and become a TSL nerd yourself. It’s that or nothing!”

Charlie blinked, processing what he said before her eyes widened and she beamed in excitement as she gasped, “Nerd night?! NERD NIGHT!?” she squealed and began bouncing on her toes, giggling and chanting, “Nerd! Night! Nerd! Night!”

Mammon watched in confusion and horror before grabbing her shoulders and holding her down. He stared into her eyes and said, “Listen to me very carefully, human, never ever  **ever** do that in my presence again.” 

Charlie nodded solemnly and replied, “I can promise nothing.”

Mammon sighed heavily and turned, “Whatever. Let’s just go. We’re gonna have to get those DVDs if you’re gonna become enough of a nerd to befriend Levi”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all of you! I'm trying really hard to get the chapters out as quickly as possible


	11. Nerd Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the delay here, I have been dealing with some life stuff that has made it difficult to get any writing done. I know this chapter is pretty short and future chapters may be a bit on the shorter side as well.... maybe
> 
> Warning: Graphic depictions of sex. Discretion is advised.

Charlie placed her hands on her hips and looked around the room in satisfaction. There were mountains of snacks on the table - excluding drinks so that Charlie would have an excuse to flee the room and catch a smoke break, a pile of pillows, and the entire set of DVDs laid out perfectly. Charlie had been approached by Beel in the kitchen while gathering snacks and had traded him permission to join the festivities for one of his clean T-Shirts. She could practically hear Asmodeus’s disapproving tone as she looked in the mirror. TheT-Shirt draped off of her frame like a child’s ghost costume at halloween. That coupled with her loose - though still not loose enough in her opinion - sweatpants gave her the appearance of a homeless rucksack. It was perfect.

Charlie looked up as the door burst open, Mammon sulking through it with Beel in Tow. The Avatar of greed had changed into his designer outfit - complete with sunglasses. Charlie had to admit that the look suited him… very well.

_But why is he wearing sunglasses in the house?_

Mammon sauntered up to Charlie and placed his hands on his hips, “So, explain somethin’ to me.”

Charlie nodded. Mammon grumbled, “Why do I gotta join you for this TSL Full Series DVD Marathon Night you’re doin’?!”

Charlie pouted, “I thought it’d be more fun to watch it together than to sit in my room for a twelve hour marathon alone…”

Mammon didn’t even hear her as he continued to bemoan, “And you say it’s 12 hour total?! What’s up with that?! We’ll be up all damn night!”

Charlie scoffed, ready to inform Mammon that she would spend 2 weekends a year marathoning the full 19 hour and 30 minute run of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings extended edition for fun. However Beel cut her off with, “Yeah, and it’s almost midterms. You must have a lot of free time, Mammon.”

Mammon bristled back, “No, I DON’T!” he glared at his younger brother for a moment before composing the rebuttal, “Anyway, you’re one to talk! What about you, Beel?! You’re here too!”

Beel smiled warmly as he explained, “A movie marathon means there’s going to be popcorn”

Charlie could feel her insides melting as she stared at Beel’s smile. She missed the brothers bickering until Mammon called out, “Let’s just get this over with!”

Charlie jumped and spun, moving past the demons towards the DVDs. Mammon caught her by the waist and looked her over, “Wait… is that… Whose shirt is that?!”

Charlie blinked and pointed to the massive ginger, “Beel let me wear it if I let him come. It’s comfy.”

Mammon scowled, “Take it off.”

“Wat.”

Mammon blushed and growled, “Take it off! Right now! Why would ya wear somethin’ like that?!” he whipped around to face Beel, “And why would ya loan her somethin’ like that?! Yer shirt’s gonna stink like human!”

“I don’t stink!”

Beel cocked an eyebrow at his brother and shrugged, “I think it looks cute on her.” and with that bit of wisdom, he made his way towards the snacks. Charlie blushed and looked down, noting that Mammon’s arm was still around her waist. She looked up at him to find a dejected expression on his face. 

Charlie frowned and reached up, ruffling his hair softly, “It’s more comfortable than my clothes are. I would’ve borrowed one from you but you’re… thinner… And I’m…..” she looked away, placing her hand on her stomach below his arm, “Not….”

Mammon scoffed, blushing deeply as he muttered, “As-As if that matters. Next time, you better borrow a shirt from me and no one else! Got it?”

Charlie looked up at him to protest, but he released his grip on her and moved towards the seating area, “Yo, Beel! Don’t eat all the snacks yet! We’ve got 12 hours to go!”

_I swear this boy is giving me fucking_ _whiplash._

Charlie blushed lightly, running her hand over the spot where his arm had been. She looked up and smiled warmly at the two brothers bickering over snacks on her bed before making her way over to start the show. She settled into the middle of the two demons, leaning her back against Beel’s shoulder and draping her legs across Mammon’s lap. 

As the episodes played out, Charlie couldn’t help but notice certain parallels between the Seven Lords and the demons she was currently bunking with. As they came to the end of volume one, Beel had already devoured almost half of the snacks that Charlie had prepared and Mammon appeared to be completely enthralled in the story line - nagging her to hurry up and put the next one in. She returned to her position between them, this time stretching out on her stomach with a pillow under her chin.

At the big reveal of The Lord of Fools’ fallen lover, Mammon cried out, “Wh… Seriously?! He’s finally reunited with her, only to find out that she’s dead?! No... “ he turned to face the other two as he frantically exclaimed, “That can’t be! Can’t he, like, use some magic or somethin’ to bring her back to life?!” 

Charlie looked up at Mammon, her heart melting at how adorable this entire outburst was. He frowned deeply as he said, “Don’t you dare die, Geldie! It can’t end like this, it just can’t! He’s gonna find a way to save Geldie, right?! What do you think? Please…. Please say he saves her!”

_I would never have pegged the Great Mammon for so much of a romantic…_

Beelzebub just stated plainly, “If you want to know what happens, you’ll have to keep watching.”

Charlie rolled so that she was fully facing Mammon and reached up, gently ruffling his hair, “I’m sure it’ll be okay, Mammon”

He sniffed and looked down at her, blushing lightly, “Y-yeah…”

And with that they resumed the marathon. After about six hours, Charlie declared she was going for more snacks and snuck out to have a cigarette. Her plan worked perfectly as she dropped an arm full of snacks and drinks on the table and started back up at Volume 5. As the storyline wrapped up, she turned to find Mammon crying. Charlie reached out, placing a hand on his, “Mammon!”

He sniffled and exclaimed, “Don’t blame the Lord of Fools! He was worried about the Lord of Flies and wanted to help… That’s all!”

Charlie frowned deeply, “Aw, honey, it’s okay…”

Mammon gestured with the hand she wasn’t holding, “I can’t believe the food ended up spoiling… it’s not fair. He was bein’ so helpful and he meant well… so, why… WHY?”

He started crying again. Charlie reached up, gently petting his head, “It’s okay. Please, don’t cry. I’m sure it’s all going to be okay”

Beel just scoffed, “Mammon, stop crying. Your nose is running, you know.”

Mammon pulled away from Charlie, snorting and sniffling as he rebutted, “Come on, how can I NOT cry watchin’ this, huh?! It’s all so saaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!”

And with that he began sobbing again. Charlie reached out and patted his back, “Shhh, it’s okay. It’ll be okay”

Charlie grabbed one of the napkins from the snack table, handing it to him. It took Mammon a good ten minutes to stop crying before they could resume. They made it through the next two volumes, the storyline conflict between the Lord of Emptiness and the Lord of Corruption reaching its climax with the imprisonment of the youngest lord. 

Mammon scoffed, “Seriously, what’s wrong with them? They’re brothers, aren’t they? Couldn’t one of them have done something to stop it from coming to this?”

Charlie took a sip of her soda and hummed thoughtfully, “I mean… it’s not always that simple is it? After all, the Lord of Corruption’s authority seems pretty absolute… Besides, the Lord of Emptiness was… kind of a genocidal asshole…”

Mammon crossed his arms, “I mean, sure, maybe the Lord of Emptiness himself deserves some of the blame, too. But even so, I can’t believe they’d abandon their brother like that...”

Beel shifted uncomfortably on the bed, a dark expression crossing his face.

Charlie stretched and yawned, “Well, that’s The Seven Lords, then... It’s a pretty good story so far.”

Beel rose and stretched, nodding at Charlie, “Thanks for the snacks”

Charlie beamed up at him, “Thanks for the shirt! I’ll give it back after I wash it, okay?”

Beel smiled sweetly, “You can keep it. It looks better on you, anyway”

And with that he strutted out of the room, completely ignoring the venomous glare from his older brother. Charlie turned to Mammon, “So… Do you think Levi will be friends with me now?”

Mammon turned his attention to her and scoffed as he shrugged, “Probably not. But at least he might actually talk to ya now.”

Charlie sighed and flopped back on the bed groaning, “All of you demons are so difficult, I swear!”

Mammon leaned over, looking down at her, “We’re big shot demons and yer just some ordinary, powerless human. Why would ya think it'd be easy to deal with us?”

Charlie pouted up at him, “Because I’m spunky and adorable”

Mammon scoffed, “Yer a pain in the ass is what you are”

Charlie sat up, throwing her arms around him, “Maybe, but you have a pact with me, which makes me _your_ pain in the ass!”

Mammon turned bright red and stuttered out, “Tha- Yo- I- …”

He turned his face away, “Yer too buddy buddy with me, ya stupid human! I could still just eat you like yer a handful of popcorn! I wouldn’t feel bad about it, either!”

_Kinky_

Charlie giggled, “Big words from someone who left tear stains on my comforter”

Mammon shot up out of her grip, causing Charlie to fall onto the bed. She giggled as he yelled about how he didn’t have to take this from a stupid human and stalked out. Charlie called after him to come back and that she didn’t mean it but it seemed that he was too embarrassed to come back. Charlie yawned again, suddenly realizing just how exhausted she really was.

With a content sigh, she curled up with the pillow clutched to her chest. Her heavy eyes drifted closed, her last conscious thought of winning Leviathan’s friendship.

_She is floating in crystal blue water. She doesn’t know how, but she knows she can breathe easily here. There is nothing in the water with her. She floats along peacefully. As she turns to look around, she sees a single tiny goldfish swimming by. With glee, she swims toward it. She stops as she is almost to the fish, her hair floating into her eyes. As she reaches to push her hair out of her face, the orange fish is gone. Replaced instead with two sharp orange eyes. She gasps as a hand grabs her by the waist, pulling her towards him. His lips crash into hers like a wave crashing onto the shore, messy and wet but warm and exciting. His arm wraps around her back, holding her tightly against him as the other hand makes its way up to grasp her breast. She squeaks into the kiss as his fingers begin kneading the flesh slowly. She gasps again as her back touches down into the sandy ground. Up and down make no sense to her. She moans as the hand he had been holding her with finds its way to her neglected breast. Her moan is swallowed by his voracious kiss. He begins gently rolling her nipples underneath his thumbs. She bucks her hips up against his. She can feel his shaft rubbing against her slit as she begins slowly grinding against him. He breaks the kiss, looking down at her with that excited smile. He looks so beautiful with his purple hair drifting up in the gentle current, the light from above dancing across his face. He moves his hands down, gripping her hips tightly. She can feel the head of his cock pressing against her opening and she mewls pleadingly for him. He tilts his head and snaps his hips forward, thrusting deeply into her. Her back arches and she cries out as her body is flooded with a wave of pleasure. He grabs her legs, lifting her knees up onto his shoulder as he slowly slides his cock almost completely out of her before snapping his hips again, driving even deeper. She reaches out, gripping two fists full of sand as she is struck with an even stronger wave of pleasure. He resumes his grip on her hips and begins to thrust, pounding into her at a lightning pace. She is consumed with rolling waves of pleasure. She tries to cry out with each thrust but the sound is muffled by the water. He leans forward, almost doubling her over as he thrusts deeper and deeper into her. She can’t breathe anymore, water is filling her lungs. Her head is spinning. He looks down at her with a soft expression. Everything fades to black._


	12. And Now We Fight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay y'all! This one is a bit shorter than previous chapters but there's some fun in this one. I just felt like this was a good place to end this one.
> 
> Warning: Mention of sex, genetalia, and sex toys - Discretion is advised.

Charlie faded into consciousness, a familiar tension between her legs. She sat up and groaned, running her fingers through her hair. Now, she was going to have to deal with some serious sexual frustration all day. She picked up her D.D.D and checked the time. She still had a little bit of time before she had to get ready for the day. She thought about alleviating her current state herself but she knew she wouldn’t have enough time to get the job done with just her fingers. With a heavy sigh, she cursed the fact that none of her personal items had come with her to the Devildom and decided that - since she was going to spend the next year beset on all sides by attractive demon boys - she would have to arm herself accordingly.

Charlie pulled up the demonic search engine app on her phone - snickering at the name Ghoulgle - and ran a quick search on local adult stores. She found one that was just off of her route to school and rose from the bed. She had some decent money left over from what she’d set aside to pay Asmodeus back and she deserved something nice.

With that thought in mind, she showered and dressed for the day. She grabbed her bag, trotting down the stairs as quietly and quickly as she could. Most of the demons would still be preparing for the day ahead but she didn’t want to risk an escort on this particular mission. She pulled out a cigarette as she hit the front door, never slowing her pace as she trotted down the path towards town. She lit up and slowed once she felt she was a safe distance from the House of Lamentation, checking her D.D.D. for directions.

It wasn’t hard to find the shop. It had the tell-tale neon pink sign and lingerie in the windows. Charlie was met with a tired electronic bell as she pushed the door open. The smell of latex and incense filled the small space. As Charlie stepped into the building, her heart shot into her throat as a familiar voice cooed, “¡Cariño!”

Charlie spun to find the Avatar of Lust holding a leather cat-o-nine-tails and beaming at her sweetly. Charlie pressed a hand over her chest to slow her heart, “Asmo! You scared the bejeebus out of me!”

Asmo grinned as he set the flogger down on a nearby table and purred, “My apologies, dear. But tell me, whatever are you doing here?”

Charlie turned and gestured vaguely toward the section of wall dedicated to dildos and vibrators, “I needed a replacement vibrator since mine is still in my bedroom drawer at home”

An arm wrapped around her waist as Asmo whined, “Why would you need one of those when _I’m_ right here?”

Charlie reached up and pressed her hand against his face shoving him away, “Because just because I want an orgasm doesn’t mean I have time for sex.”

Asmo pouted and pulled away, “Hmmm…. I suppose you’re not _wrong_ … still. I can’t help but feel wounded.”

Charlie reached in her pocket, pulling out the wad of cash from her waitress exploits, “Would it make you feel better if I paid you back for the clothes?”

Asmo glared at her, “Now you’re treating me like that money hungry idiot, Mammon! That’s insulting!”

Charlie huffed, “Do you want the money or not?”

Asmo looked thoughtful for a moment before a wicked grin crossed his soft lips, “No…. I want you to buy the best toy you can get, Cariño. And then I want to use it on you.”

Charlie blushed deeply and narrowed her eyes at him, her voice taking a threatening tone, “Asmodeus…”

Asmo giggled and held his hands up, “Ooh~! You’re so cute when you’re mad! I’m only kidding about the last part…. For now. Maybe someday you’ll let me show you what a real orgasm feels like”

Charlie rolled her eyes, “Do you wanna help me pick one out? Since you’re already here…”

Asmo squealed and threw his arms around her shoulders, “I’d love to!”

Charlie glanced over at him - or her as Asmodeus had shifted into his female form again - and scoffed, “You’re really easy to please, aren’t you?”

Asmo giggled lightly, “Well of course! After all, just being me should be pleasing enough for anyone, right?”

Charlie chuckled and turned, pulling from the demon’s grasp and walking over to the wall of vibrators. She was both horrified and curious at the various exotic shapes and sizes. Asmodeus sauntered up behind her, “Hmm~ So are you looking for something with more stimulation or different modes? Maybe something in a… less human shape?”

Charlie pulled one off the rack, tilting her head curiously, “Well… I’ve never tried the bad dragon variety of vibrators or dildos... they are hella expensive and the normal shapes usually did the job. I definitely need something with clitoral stimulation… vaginal stimulation has only ever gotten me off once in my life.”

Amso tilted her head and hummed curiously, “Not very sensitive down there?”

Charlie let out a laborious sigh, “No, unfortunately. My girl takes a significant amount of abuse to get riled up.”

Asmo placed a hand on her shoulder, a pitying expression on her face, “Oh, you poor dear.”

Charlie scoffed, “Yeah, well… I found one guy who could accomplish the task but he was… lord he was huge”

Asmo grinned cattily and cooed, “Ooh~ How huge?!”

Charlie chuckled and picked up another model, inspecting the specifications on the back of the package, “Ten and a half inches long and about four inches girth”

Asmo blinked and furrowed her brows, “That’s…. Huge?”

Charlie looked up from the packaging and stared at Asmo in concern, “Asmo…. That much barely even fit….”

Asmo blinked and frowned deeply, “Well… you are quite small…”

Charlie placed the vibrator back on the rack and brought her palms together in front of her face before bringing them down in a chopping motion to emphasize each syllable, “ _I. am. huge. for. a. human. woman!_ ”

Asmo tilted her head, “I mean… you’re taller than most humans, yes. But you are still quite small compared to a demon or an angel”

She reached out and patted Charlie on the head, “It’s not a bad thing, Cariño. You’re… fun-sized to us demons!”

Charlie huffed, “I’m not small. And neither is ten inches! C-Can we just focus on the vibrators, please?”

Asmo giggled, “Of course, love”

With that the two set to the task of perusing all things imitation penis. After what was becoming a familiar back and forth between the two when shopping, Charlie came out with a rather large brown bag full of various toys - a handful of which require a partner to use. She had also picked up a lingerie set though she still couldn’t figure out how Asmo had manipulated her into buying that. She had just enough time to sneak her haul back into her room in the House of Lamentation and make it to RAD for the first class.

The day flew by and as Charlie walked home with Mammon, the demon began quizzing her about various trivia facts from The Seven Lords. They reached the main foyer of the house of Lamentation and Mammon turned and placed his hands on his hips “Okay, one more time, Volume Two: After falling into a trap set by Henry and the Lord of Shadow, the Lord of Fools is forced to flee to the North. When he gets there, he finds his former sweetheart’s body frozen in ice. What’s her name?”

“Geldie.”

“Correct. Eh, though anyone could’ve gotten that right, as easy as it was.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “Then give me something harder.”

Mammon smirked and leaned forward, “Alright, Volume five: Hostile forces from another land invade the Lord of Flies’ country, surrounding and isolating him so his people will starve. So, the Lord of Fools tries to help his brother. The lord of Fools means well, but his efforts backfire. As a result, the Lord of Flies ends up in an even worse situation. Tell me what the problem was.”

Charlie scoffed, noticing a theme to these questions, “The food that the Lord of Fools sent to the Lord of Flies had spoiled due to the supply caravan being caught in a rainstorm the entire way.”

Mammon nodded, “Right. The Lord of Fools really did mean well… Ugh… every single time I think about it, it makes me wanna cry…”

Charlie reached up and patted Mammon on the head, “Please don’t”

Mammon scoffed and swatted her hand away, “All right, time to move on. Volume Seven: The Lord of Corruption imprisons the Lord of Emptiness in the Tower of Shadow, refusing to forgive his brother for leading a rebellion against him. The other lords lament the fate of their youngest brother, but there’s nothing they can do to help him. Why is that?”

Charlie crossed her arms and tilted her head, “Because they were afraid of the Lord of Corruption.”

Mammon nodded, “Great. Looks like you can do this when ya really put your mind to it.”

He grinned at her teasingly, “You may seem like an airhead, but I’ve gotta admit, you did pretty well.” Charlie stuck her tongue out at Mammon as he continued, “I’d say you should be able to convince Levi that you know your stuff at this point.”

Charlie sighed softly, and frowned, “I hope so… I don’t understand why he’s so mean to me to be hones-”

“Hey, human.”

Charlie turned to find Leviathan skulking towards her. She perked up a bit as Mammon exclaimed, “Ah, well speak of the devil…”

Levi ignored his brother, his sharp orange glare trained on Charlie, “I heard what you’re up to, human. Seems that you’re trying to suck up to me so I’ll like you.”

Charlie frowned deeply as she met his gaze, a familiar anxious knot forming in her stomach. 

_Why does he hate me so much? What have I ever done to him? Okay, I did boop his cheek without asking but it was only the one time. Is that enough to hate me this much? Why is this happening to me again? Why does everyone hate me all the time? Am I so horrible? Maybe I’m just a bad person… maybe there’s something wrong with me…. I try to be nice… oh god what if it turns out just like -_

She was pulled from her thoughts as Leviathan declared, “Don’t go getting any ideas in your head, human.”

Charlie stared at Leviathan, her head spinning with anxious thoughts.

_What do I do? Nothing I try is working. Maybe he’ll never like me… maybe they’ll all hate me the whole year I’m here…_

Charlie could almost feel something in her mind snap as she blurted out, “And now we fight?”

Leviathan blinked at her in confusion, “What?”

Charlie rolled back what she’d just said before planting her heels, “And now we fight! Let’s compete to see who the bigger TSL fan is!”

Leviathan gaped at Charlie for a moment, a look of pure confusion plastered all over his face, “... What? Where did that come from?”

He seemed to recover from his stupor, a smug grin splitting his face, “Do you **seriously** think you could beat me in a competition involving TSL? Haha, that’s hilarious! Lololol”

_Did he just say ‘lololol’ out loud? Are you serious right now? Oh my god he’s fucking adorable and I hate him._

Leviathan chuckled, “As if I’d actually accept a challenge like that. I mean, I already know what the outcome would be.”

Charlie clenched her fists, forcing what she hoped appeared to be a confident smirk on her face, “Afraid of losing?”

Leviathan squinted at her, “ **Excuse me?** Did you process anything I just said? Where are you getting this idea that I might actually lose to you?”

Charlie’s smirk spread to a grin as she replied, “I knew it. You ARE afraid!”

Levi frowned, “Excuse me? **EXCUSE ME?!** Are you processing ANYTHING I’m saying here?!”

Charlie shrugged and looked over her shoulder at an invisible audience, “Levi’s a chicken!”

She turned back to find the Avatar of Envy glaring daggers at her, “Hey! Watch what you say, human!”

_Fight me, bitch!_

She crossed her arms, taking a condescending tone, “Levi’s an otaku!”

Mammon scoffed and crossed his arms, “Well, yeah, can’t argue with ya there.”

Charlie reached up, gripping her chin thoughtfully, “Levi’s a-”

She was cut off with, “Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. I accept your challenge. We’ll compete to see which one of us loves TSL more, you or me.”

Charlie basked in her victory for a moment before he added, “Just one thing, though. If you lose, you might never make it back to the human world **alive**.”

Charlie inhaled sharply as Leviathan grinned at her venomously, “But you still want to do this, right?”

Charlie nodded, too deep to back out now. Leviathan tilted his head, his eyelids lowering dangerously, “Okay.”

As the otaku wandered off to his room, Charlie turned to find a stunned Mammon. She grinned awkwardly, “And…. now we fight?”

Mammon shook his head, “I hope ya know what yer doin’, human.”

Charlie laughed nervously.

_Me too, buddy. Me too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me through this you guys! I appreciate y'all so much! <3 <3 <3


	13. The Great Nerd Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is HERE! The great nerd off has finally arrived! With a few extra scene tossed in for good measure! I hope you enjoy!

The rest of the night passed restlessly for Charlie. She spent most of the night sitting in her bed, rocking back and forth and humming to herself. She knew if anyone else had seen her they would have been highly disturbed. But she also knew that rocking back and forth seemed to keep the anxious energy from building too high and the humming was the only thing she knew to soothe herself when she was upset.

When Charlie did finally fall asleep, it was a fitful sleep that offered her little rejuvenation. She woke to her alarm, and put on her gym clothes. She didn’t stop to speak to anyone or bother with acquiring an escort as she made her way down the streets. Everything was silent and still as she entered the building. There appeared to be no other occupants but her. Which was perfectly fine with Charlie. She needed some ‘me time’.

Beel stopped as he walked into the gym, looking over at the violently lurching heavy bag. Charlie stood dripping sweat with her back to the door, swinging for all she was worth - cross, cross, cross, jab, jab, jab, jab, hook, hook, hook, hook, cross and repeat. The Avatar of Gluttony watched her for a few moments, wondering where she had found a pair of kickboxing gloves as well as observing her form. He wondered at her breath control and how practiced her strikes seemed. She would occasionally break the pattern and throw a knee-strike, causing the bag to swing ever so slightly before returning to its previous position. Beel glanced into the mirror in front of her, taking note of her fierce and focused expression. She looked beautiful like this.

Charlie’s mind was completely cleared save for the mantra of the routine.

_Left, right, left, left, right, right, left, right, duck the head, guard up, put your shoulder behind it, tuck the elbows tighter, weave to the left, throw the right, weave to the right, throw the left, get under the guard-_

“Tuck your elbows more on the hook.”

Charlie shrieked and jumped, tripping over her feet and landing on the gym mat below her with a “heGYUFF”. She pressed her hand over her racing heart and rolled over staring up at the massive ginger demon, “ _Holy fucking shit fuck, BEEL!_ You scared the ever loving _FUCK_ out of me!”

The Avatar of Gluttony stared down at her in shock and concern, “Are… are you okay?”

Charlie took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart rate, “I’m good. I’m cool. Everything’s cool. Sorry.”

She squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly lifted off the floor and placed on her feet. She blushed brightly as Beel nodded solemnly, “Tuck your elbows on the hook.”

And with that he walked away towards the weight rack. Charlie took another deep breath and turned, widening her stance and resuming her rhythm. She tried to resume her previous mental state but found that her entire focus was gone. With a frustrated sigh, Charlie decided it was time to hit the showers. She waited after her shower for Beel to finish his workout and escort her to RAD. 

As the two made their way towards the first class, a familiar blonde figure approached them in the hallway, “Hello there, Charlie”

He wore his usual pleasant smile, something that Charlie found great comfort in, “Hi, Satan.”

He tilted his head, “I heard about what’s happening. It seems you and Levi are going to have a little competition”

Beel piped up behind her, “Are you hoping to find out what’s in the attic room? Is that it?”

Charlie turned and met his intense gaze, “... I am, yes.”

Beel stared down at her curiously, “Huh. You don’t say…”

After a moment of thoughtful silence, he continued, “I’ll let you in on a nice piece of information. Levi is the demon of **envy**. If you can work him into a jealous frenzy, he’ll lose control of himself.”

He smiled sweetly, “Then he’ll be guaranteed to slip up somehow, giving you an opening you can exploit.”

Charlie felt a warm affection filling her chest for the giant demon. Until he scowled and added, “Just one thing, though. If Levi does lose control of himself, your life will also be in danger.”

_Welp, I guess I’ll just die either way, then._

She tilted her head and smiled warmly up at Beelzebub, “Thank you.”

The Avatar of Gluttony frowned and placed a hand over his stomach, “If you want to thank me, give me food.”

He brightened up as he said, “You can buy me a megaton-size bowl of pasta with mixed entrails. And I’d like that topped with sliced anaconda, fried tarantula, and Nile crocodile brains.”

Charlie couldn’t help but giggle, “You got it, big guy! They have that in the cafeteria?”

Satan interrupted the exchange with, “I’ll give you a piece of advice, too.”

Charlie turned to face the blonde, noting the thoughtful expression on his face, “The DVD version of TSL is up to season seven now. That’s the most recent release. Meanwhile, the original book version is up to Volume eight at this point.Volume nine of the book isn’t out yet. But if you want to know what’s going to happen in it, you should ask Simeon.”

Charlie smiled, excited at an excuse to talk to the beautiful angel again, “Thanks!”

A look of surprise crossed Satan’s face, “I’m surprised you’re so willing to take my word for it on this. You aren’t concerned I might be lying to you?”

Charlie tilted her head, “If you were going to lie to me, why would you direct me to an angel? It would make more sense to point me towards someone who would actually want to hurt me, wouldn’t it?”

Satan looked thoughtful, “True… Eh, though I guess you’ll be able to tell when you ask Simeon.”

Charlie nodded and said, “Thanks again! Both of you!” she waved and turned, “Time for class! See you later!”

She took off running towards her classroom, a mixture of relief and excitement swelling within her.

_Maybe I can do this after all! Maybe they don’t all hate me! Oh, man if this works it’s gonna be awesome!_

**  
  
**

“So, let me get this straight…”

Charlie looked over at the silver haired demon seated at the desk next to hers as he continued, “You’re tellin’ me Beel and Satan **both** gave you hints for how to defeat Levi?”

Charlie nodded, “Yeah!”

Mammon narrowed his eyes, “Ya don’t say… how VERY interesting…”

He grinned, “Well, ya know why they did that though, right? It’s all because I’m lookin’ after ya. You’ve got Mammon to thank for this! Okay, here’s the deal. Those two are givin’ **you** special treatment because they know that **I’m** the one in charge of you. They want me to be pleased with them, ya see!”

He puffed his chest, “So, whaddya think about that? NOW you get it, doncha! It’s clear how important I am, and how much my younger brothers respect me!”

Charlie smiled sweetly, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

He blushed lightly, “Wh- hey! Come on, it feels weird when you agree with me like that. I mean doncha think you should’ve taken that opportunity to put me down or somethin’?”

Charlie frowned, “What? No. Why would I do that?!”

Mammon looked away, the blush on his cheeks growing darker, “Eh, whatever… Just let this be a learnin’ experience. From now on, you oughta respect me like they do!”

Charlie smiled and nodded emphatically. Mammon scoffed, “Ugh, forget it. Let’s just get down to business. You and me need to figure out what our strategy’s gonna be with this Levi thing.”

Charlie nodded again as Mammon continued, “First off, what Beel told you is right. If you can make Levi jealous, he’s bound to lose his cool. Though, there’s no guarantee he won’t kill ya if that happens.”

He shrugged and Charlie swallowed hard at the thought as he stated plainly, “But that’s just how it’s gotta be. There’s no way you’ll beat Levi in a competition over who’s the bigger TSL nerd. Not if you fight fair. You’d best face up to the fact that this is gonna involve a little risk.”

Mammon crossed his arms and looked thoughtful, “So, we’ve gotta figure out **how** you’re gonna manage to make him jealous. He may be the Avatar of Envy, but it’s hard to make him give in to it. Instead of gettin’ super jealous of you, he’ll get all negative about his own situation. He’ll start talkin’about how it’s ‘not fair’ and you’re ‘lucky’ and stuff.”

Mammon frowned, “You’re not gonna be able to get him to lose his cool just by doing a little bragging. No, you’re gonna have to do somethin’ to make him REAL jealous. So jealous that he nearly pops a blood vessel.”

He sighed, “Hmmm… Maybe we oughta ask someone for advice.”

Charlie dropped her chin onto her palm thoughtfully, “Hmmm… well… What about Simeon?”

Mammon blinked, “Ah, yeah, Satan did say somethin’ about talking to Simeon, didn’t he? Said you should ask him about the next TSL novel - the one that’s not out yet.”

Mammon crossed his arms and pouted, “And actually, I’m dyin’ to find out what’s gonna happen myself.”

He tilted his head, “Still though, why would Simeon know what’s gonna happen in the next TSL book when it’s not even out yet?”

Charlie shrugged and Mammon scoffed, “Eh, whatever. Let’s just go talk to him and see what he says.”

Charlie held up a hand as Mammon started to get up, “WAIT! I… I can go and ask him and bring the information back…”

Mammon raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to question her as Charlie quickly cut him off, “After all, you’re the boss, right? So… it would make sense that… you shouldn’t have to do the leg work, right? The GREAT Mammon should never have to run errands, right?”

Mammon stared at her for a moment, processing what she’d said before grinning brightly, “Hey! That’s right! Wow, you’re really smart! Alright, hop to it, then. Don’t make me wait.”

Charlie scoffed internally and rose from her seat, trotting off to find the angel in question.

It didn’t take long for Charlie to track down the dark haired beauty in the halls. Her heart leapt into her throat as she took a step towards him… and then immediately sank again when she spied the sorcerer standing next to him. Charlie sighed softly, wondering if she should come back later. But as she was about to turn and walk away, the rusted gunmetal eyes of Solomon locked on hers. He looked confused for a second before looking between the angel and the woman and smirking. Charlie felt her stomach knotting up as Solomon turned back to the angel and began speaking again. He looked back to her and Simeon spun to face her. Charlie panicked and raised a hand in an awkward wave. She could feel tension that she didn’t even know she had rush from her body as Simeon smiled at her. She barely caught sight of Solomon walking away before he was gone. 

Simeon walked up to her, “Hello, Charlie! Solomon said that you wanted to talk to me?”

Charlie’s heart fluttered as he said her name and she smiled sweetly, “Oh! Yeah so um… I actually… need your help?”

A worried look crossed Simeon’s face, “Are you alright?!”

Charlie blushed at the intensity of his concern, “Oh! Um… well… I’m- I’m okay for now… uh I just… I have this thing… with Levi… and um… well it’s kind of a competition really… and I think I’m going to lose… and Satan told me you knew what was going to happen in the um… the ninth volume of The Seven Lords book series and I need to know… uh… what happens…. For reasons…. Um….”

_Nailed it._

Simeon frowned and studied her face, “I’m not sure that I quite understand what is going on…”

His expression softened, “But if all you need is to know what is going to happen in volume nine of The Seven Lords, I will be more than happy to oblige.”

Charlie beamed up at him, “Really?! That’s so awesome! Oh man, Simeon, you are my _hero!”_

Simeon smiled strangely at her, “Of course, Charlie. I’m just so happy I’m able to help you.”

Charlie blushed and giggled, though she noted his strange expression and phrasing in the back of her mind to ponder later.

Charlie listened intently as Simeon went over a quick synopsis of the main plotline for volume nine. She hung on every syllable - desperately struggling to maintain focus on his words and not on his prominent collarbones and how much she wanted to trace them with her lips, or on his lips and how soft they looked. She caught herself as her mind tried to wander off to the dream she’d had about him. 

Simeon smiled at her warmly, “Does that help?”

Charlie nodded, her face warm and her mind exhausted from the fight for focus, “Yes! So much. Thank you so much, Simeon!”

He tilted his head and closed his eyes, “Of course, it is my job to offer what help I can to my little lambs”

Charlie felt her insides melting and she let out a bubbly giggle, “You’re so sweet… I should… I should get goin’. Thanks again. I’ll see you around?”

Simeon chuckled softly, “Of course!”

With that, Charlie turned, waving goodbye one last time, and trotted off back towards the classroom. She had to get back and tell Mammon the juicy plotline spoilers she had learned. He would be especially thrilled about one particular part including the Lord of Fools. As she turned a corner, she backpedaled immediately with a squeak finding herself face to face with the sorcerer. Solomon jumped and took a step back, staring up at her with wide eyes. Charlie blinked - rather enjoying the shocked expression on his face. 

After a brief second, Solomon regained his composure and cleared his throat - though Charlie could swear there was a bit more color in his cheeks than normal - as he said, “Charlie… Did you have a nice conversation with Simeon?”

Charlie crossed her arms in front of her defensively, “I did, thank you.”

He smirked and tilted his head, “Did he give you everything you need to defeat Leviathan in the competition later?”

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him, “How do you know about that?”

Solomon chuckled, “Asmodeus and I _do_ have a pact, you know.”

Charlie blushed deeply, wondering what else Asmodeus had told the wizard. Solomon seemed to ignore her sudden shift in coloration as he reached up and pulled a pendant from underneath his shirt, unhooking the chain and holding it out to her, “Here, this may help as well”

Charlie looked at the necklace, recognizing the single wing design, “Is that… The Lord of Corruption’s pendant?”

Solomon smiled at her, amusement shining in his eyes, “I see you really have been studying the series. Yes, this is a particularly rare version of the pendant. If Leviathan sees you with it, he’s sure to be mad with envy. That is your goal, no?”

Charlie looked between the pendant and the sorcerer suspiciously, “And what’s in it for you?”

Solomon placed his free hand over his heart, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in dramatic mock injury, “Why, Charlie! I’m wounded! Truly, I’m giving this to you out of the purest altruistic nature of my heart!”

Charlie tilted her head, cocking an eyebrow, her voice flat and unamused as she replied “Uh- _huh_. Seriously, though. What’s your angle here?”

Solomon opened one eye and smirked, “Ah, well. It sounded good, didn’t it? In all honesty, though,”

He opened the other eye and grinned at her slyly, “I simply want to make things a bit more… interesting. That’s all.”

Charlie scoffed, “So, for the sake of chaos?”

Solomon chuckled and reached up, placing the chain around her neck. Charlie stiffened at his touch as he fastened the clasp and softly replied in her ear, “For the sake of _entertainment_.”

Charlie reached up and placed her hand over the pendant as Solomon pulled away, his eyes drifting down to the necklace before snapping back up to meet hers. His expression was the same calculated, smug grin but there was an odd glimmer in his eyes as he said, “Well then…. Good luck”

With that, he turned and raised a hand in the air as he walked away, calling back, “Try not to die!” and he was gone.

Charlie swallowed and took a deep breath, letting herself relax once he was out of view. She stared after him for a moment, clutching the pendant around her neck in wonder. She was hesitant to accept that there were no strings attached to this assistance but decided that she had no choice now but to accept it and make her way back to the classroom. She was sure Mammon would be waiting to complain about how long it had taken her.

After enduring the predicted onslaught of complaints from the Avatar of Greed, Charlie filled him in on the plot spoilers. She just managed to get through the final spoiler when the teacher called the class to attention. As the rest of the schedule paraded by, Charlie could feel nervous pressure rising higher and higher. It felt like she was going to be crushed by the weight of it as she trudged out of the final class towards the Student Council chambers. Her stomach felt like it was filled with ice as she stared up at the large, ornate doorway. Charlie swallowed and slowly reached a shaky hand towards the door handle when a voice suddenly called out, “Are ya goin’ in or not?!”

Charlie jumped and shrieked, spinning to find herself face to face with the Avatar of Greed. She placed a hand over her chest, “WHY ARE YOU ALL SO **QUIET**?!’

Mammon blinked at her, “Why are _you_ so jumpy?!”

Charlie raised a finger and opened her mouth to reply before shutting it and narrowing her eyes at him, “Fair point”

Mammon tilted his head, “Are ya worried?”

Charlie looked away and chuckled nervously, “Well I mean… I’m only walking into a situation where I’m almost certainly going to die over a vinyl record. No big deal, right?”

Mammon reached out and plopped his hand on top of Charlie’s head. She turned her gaze back to his face to find him blushing brightly and looking away. He began clumsily moving his hand back and forth as if trying to imitate the way she normally ruffled his hair as he said, “Look, I know I said you might get killed but don’t worry so much. Ya got the Great Mammon to protect you! Nothin’ bad is gonna happen to you, okay? I promise.”

Charlie blushed deeply and looked up at him, her heart fluttering in her chest. She smiled warmly as she replied, “Of course. Thank you, Mammon.”

He looked down at her for a moment before his entire face turned blood red. He stuttered out, “A-th-We- Le-Let’s g-g-get goin’ then, yeah?!”

He snatched his hand back, trying to regain his composure. Charlie took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders.

_“We have to go in there, Mr. Frodo. There’s nothing for it.”_

With the wise words of Samwise Gamgee ringing in her head, Charlie stepped forward throwing the doors open with the conviction of a hobbit walking into Mordor. The entire student body was already assembled - sans the Avatar of Greed who sauntered in behind her - and turned their collective gaze to Charlie as she made her entrance. Leviathan was the only Student Council member not seated on his assigned throne in the lineup. He was instead standing before one of the podiums in the middle of the room. 

As Charlie approached the opposite podium from Leviathan, she caught him watching her with a smug grin. She glowered in return and took her position as Asmodeus rose from his seat, “All right, everyone! Finally, the wait is over! It’s time for Devil’s Trivia Showdown, the quiz show that pits demon against human!”

He motioned to the podiums grandly, “Today our competitors will be testing their knowledge regarding a super-famous, super-popular fantasy series. One that’s known by young and old alike… _The Tale of the Seven Lords_!”

He gave a cute wink and said, “Now, it’s time to introduce our two competitors. First, he’s a demon who freely admits to being a giant TSL nerd! Meet Leviathan!”

Amso held his arm out dramatically to Leviathan who crossed his arms and puffed his chest, “I am the G.O.A.T. None can oppose me!”

Charlie gaped at him in awe. She hadn’t heard anyone use that acronym in almost a decade.

Asmo turned and held his other arm out towards her, “And his challenger claims to have been introduced to TSL only very recently after binge watching the DVDs! Say hello to Charlie!”

Charlie jumped, startled by the sudden introduction. She stuttered out, “Agdaba- Uh… Hi there!” and waved awkwardly.

Leviathan scoffed, “You know, I don’t even care about this whole **competition** thing honestly. I mean, I already know how this is going to end.”

He grinned smugly, “I’m only doing this because it gives me a chance to show off my encyclopedic knowledge of TSL to everyone.”

Asmo completely ignored Levi’s statement and continued, “Serving as judge for today’s competition is our very own Demon Lord himself, Diavolo!”

Diavolo beamed brightly, “Hello there, everyone. Good to see you.”

“Color commentary will be provided by Satan, Avatar of Wrath. But a good commentator needs to keep a cool head.” Asmo winked and giggled as he said, “I wonder, is he really up to the task?”

Charlie looked over at the smirking blonde as he rose and replied, “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. So, I’m doing the commentary? That’s a lot of responsibility.”

Charlie had to stifle her chuckle at his sarcastic tone. 

Asmo cleared his throat, throwing his brother a quick glare before continuing, “Now, say hello to our guest demon, the always-famished Beelzebub! For his appearance fee, he requested to be compensated in cheeseburgers. How very Beel of him…”

Beel stood, taking another bite of one of the cheeseburgers in his hands, “Nothing beats one of Hell’s Kitchen’s special cheeseburgers. They age the cheese four thousand years for maximum flavor.”

Charlie nodded thoughtfully, remembering the great burger raid fondly. As Beel sat back down, Asmodeus stepped forward, “And your host for the day is none other than yours truly, Asmodeus. The demon who can make you swoon simply by whispering in your ear. You all know me, **you all love me.** ”

A cheer rippled through the audience behind Charlie and she felt the nervous pressure building again. She just had to make sure she didn’t make an idiot of herself in front of basically every demon in existence. 

_No pressure, right?_

Mammon flopped into his throne and scoffed, “All right, enough. This is gettin’ ridiculous. Let’s get this show on the road!”

Lucifer leaned his cheek on his knuckles and looked over at his brother, “I thought you hated wasting your time at events like this, Mammon. Yet here you are. Truly, wonders never cease.”

Mammon turned bright pink and looked away, “Shut up, Lucifer. I’ve got some free time, that’s all.”

Asmodeus turned his gaze on Charlie, “Well then, we’ll start with you, Charlie.”

She swallowed nervously and reached out, gripping the podium in front of her as Asmodeus continued, “Get ready for TSL Quiz question number one!”

Charlie nodded and Asmo tilted his head, “The seven lords are all brothers, and each has a specific name that people know them by. In birth order, name the oldest, second-oldest, and third-oldest lords.”

Charlie blinked, “Ah… Corruption, Fools, and then Shadow.”

Asmo beamed brightly, “Well, how about that! You’re absolutely correct! Way to start the game off on the right foot, Charlie!”

Leviathan whined next to her, “Oh come on. Anybody could’ve gotten that one right.”

Charlie glared over at Leviathan. He noticed her glare and returned it with one of his own. Charlie stuck her tongue out at him but before Leviathan could retaliate, Asmodeus continued, “All right, Leviathan, it’s your turn now. Here comes question number one!”

Levi turned to face Asmodeus, an excited grin crossing his face as the Avatar of Lust continued, “In what year did the Lord of Shadow build the Blue Palace for his imaginary mistress?”

Leviathan glared at his brother, “Year 693 of the ancient era.”

Asmodeus beamed, “Correct! What an impressive showing from the self-described TSL nerd!”

Leviathan held his arms out and declared, “In me you bear witness to a legend!”

Charlie stared at Levi, a light blush crossing her cheeks.

_Stop being so dorky goddammit. I’m trying to be mad and you’re just making me want to-_

Charlie was snapped back from her internal monologue as Asmodeus called out, “All right, back to you now, Charlie! Get ready for TSL Quiz question number two!”

Charlie turned to face Asmo as he smiled down at her, “The sixth lord is the Lord of Flies. What does he love to eat more than anything else?”

Charlie blinked and looked down at the podium, “Uhhh….” she squeezed her eyes closed as she tried to focus on the sixth lord’s running gag, “Ummm… C-cursed… goat tartare sandwich with… cheese?”

Asmo threw his hands up and giggled, “Correct! Very impressive! That was a tough one! You really do know your stuff, don’t you?!”

Charlie blushed under the praise and caught sight of the daggers being glared in her direction from Leviathan. She turned and threw him a smug grin in response. Levi gripped the edges of his podium tightly as his face was growing flushed with frustration. He whipped around as Asmodeus said, “Now back to Mr. Reliable himself, Leviathan! Here comes question number two!”

Leviathan relaxed his grip and seemed to cool down a bit as Asmodeus continued, “In _The Tale of the Seven Lords_ Volume Three, page seven hundred and twenty-four, what does the Lord of Fools say in the fifth line from the top?”

Leviathan grinned as he recited, “‘Money is my dearest friend and closest companion. It’s everything to me. The blood bonds I share with my brothers are like the weak, wispy threads of a spider by comparison'”

Asmo nodded, a look of awe crossing his face, “Amazing! That is correct! An exact match word for word!”

Charlie glanced over at Leviathan’s excited expression and sighed internally.

_I really hope he doesn’t hate me so much after this…. That is really cute…_

Charlie looked up at Asmo as a serious expression crossed his face, “All right, moving on… It’s your turn now, Charlie! Say hello to question number three!”

Charlie nodded as he asked, “This is regarding the fifth brother, the Lord of Lechery. Who does he love more than anyone else?”

Charlie bounced on her toes as she exclaimed, “OOH! OOH! HIMSELF!”

Asmodeus giggled brightly and beamed down at Charlie, “Well, well! Excellent! You are absolutely right!”

Charlie grinned excitedly and looked over at Leviathan who glowered in return. He turned and snapped at Asmodeus, “Come on, hurry up! Let’s go! It’s my turn now.”

Asmodeus’s expression dropped into mild annoyance as he replied, “Leviathan, you’ve gotten every single question correct thus far. But prepare yourself, because question number three is coming at you!”

He smiled, though there was a dangerous glint in his eyes that indicated that Asmo was done with Levi’s shit as he said, “In Volume four of the DVD series, at exactly one hundred and fifty-nine minutes and thirty-five seconds in, what is the Lord of Masks holding in his left hand?”

Leviathan crossed his arms and tilted his head, “He’s holding a flower from a carnivorous grodoodle plant grown by the Lord of Corruption.”

Asmodeus gave a shudder, “Excellent! That only flashed on screen for the briefest of moments and yet you still caught it! Amazing… your knowledge is truly extensive. In fact, I’d even say it’s… **creepy!** ”

Leviathan narrowed his eyes at his brother, “Hey, is it just me, or have all of my questions been way harder than Charlie’s? Like, suspiciously hard. Though they’re still so easy for _me_ that I’m ready to fall asleep here.”

He glared over at the human, “Anyway, how long are we going to keep this charade up? This is getting boring.”

Mammon rose from his seat, “Yep, I’d say it has. All right, Charlie, it’s time to pull out the big guns! Let’s see how Levi here likes your trump card!”

He pointed to the Avatar of Envy dramatically, “Levi, you’re way too full of yourself. Which is why we’re about to reach inside ya, yank out that pride, and crush it like a bug!”

Charlie covered her mouth and gaped at the display.

_Oh god, there’s two of these drama queens!_

Leviathan turned his glare from the human to his older brother, “What…?”

As the demons chattered, Charlie tried to remember the plotline that Simeon had told her earlier. Her heart thudded against her ribs as she realized she couldn’t remember any of it. She stared down at the podium, frozen by the realization that she couldn’t remember anything Simeon had told her. This was it… she was going to be humiliated in front of all of the Devildom. Her mouth was dry as cotton and she reached up to place her hand over her thundering chest when she heard something jingle. 

Charlie reached up and traced her finger along the chain dangling around her neck.

_Solomon’s pendant…._

  
  


Charlie closed her eyes and hoped with everything in her that she could trust the sorcerer and pulled out the pendant of the necklace. She held it up so that everyone could see it.

Leviathan’s eyes widened at the sight of the single wing design, “W… wait a minute, is that…? I don’t believe it!”

He leaned towards Charlie to get a better look, “It’s the Lord of Corruption’s lost wing pendant - the platinum version! That’s incredibly, incredibly rare… it’s legendary!”

He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, “H-How did you get that…?! That pendant was only sold in extremely limited quantities to commemorate the release of Volume One. It’s a veritable TREASURE! Any TSL fan would KILL for that.”

He squeezed his eyes closed, “GAH! I… I can’t bear to look at it! It’s just… too… beautiful!”

Charlie stared at the pendant, awestruck herself. Solomon… had actually loaned her something that valuable? She suddenly felt a pang of guilt for blowing smoke in his face.

Asmodeus stared at Leviathan in confusion as he said, “All right, um… Okay, I suppose that settles who the true TSL nerd is-”

Leviathan dropped his hand to the podium with a slam, “I won’t stand for this.”

Charlie spun to face him as he leered towards her. She could almost feel the venom in his words pulsing through her as he spit, “All you did was stay up one night marathoning the DVDs. The idea that someone like YOU could actually be a bigger TSL fan than me, it’s…”

Mammon called out to Leviathan, but Charlie could see the hate burning in his eyes as he exclaimed, “No… **no** , I WILL NOT STAND FOR THISSSSSSSSS!”

Charlie took a step back as Leviathan’s appearance shifted. A long, thin serpentine tail whipped behind him, twisted branching horns - remeniscent of two gnarled trees - rose in a broken halo from the sides of his head, dark blue scale markings spotted his neck. Charlie couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting down to the skin-tight cloth on his midsection.

_HOW THE HELL DOES THIS WEEB HAVE A SIX PACK?!_

Charlie looked back up at his face as Leviathan lunged at her. Charlie brought her fists up in a guard position and bent her knees, ready to strike. She coiled up and prepared to strike when her vision of the oncoming demon was blocked by a wall of darkness. A smooth velvet voice declared, “That’s enough. I believe you were going to settle this via a QUIZ, weren’t you? Not through violence.”

Charlie looked up to see Lucifer standing between her and Leviathan. Four large black wings were unfurled from his back and two thick twisted horns. Charlie gaped at how beautiful he looked like this, her mind jumping to various uses for those horns.

Murmurs rolled through the student body and the boys began commenting on the event. Charlie slowly let her body relax out of the fighting stance she had taken as Lucifer sent Leviathan to his room. She glanced over at Mammon who looked immensely disappointed. Lucifer seemed to notice as well as he inquired, “What is it, Mammon? You look like you want to say something”

Mammon shrugged and scoffed, “No. I don’t wanna say nothin’.”

Asmodeus pouted, “So, what’re we going to do now? How are we supposed to have our competition without Levi?”

Diavolo rose and smiled, “I guess this means the competition ends in a draw. Neither one of them won.”

Charlie pouted and crossed her arms.

_I should get the win for almost getting maimed by a freakin’ demon… this is bullshit._

As the chatter died down and the students began shuffling out, Satan walked up to Charlie, “So… I must ask, lass.”

Charlie looked up at him curiously as he continued, “What exactly were you planning to do raising your fists like that?”

Charlie blinked and blurted out, “Punch ‘im in the nose”

Satan placed a hand over his chest and squinted at her, “Ex-Excuse me?”

Charlie nodded solemnly, “Punch ‘im in the nose”

Satan mouthed silently for a moment, appearing to be at a loss for words before he managed to say, “Charlie… Leviathan is the Grand Admiral of the Devildom navy….”

Charlie stared at him for a moment before crossing her arms, “Okay. Punch ‘im in the dick, then. Whatever.”

Satan tilted his head in confusion like a dog hearing a high pitched noise for a moment before he burst out laughing, “You- you are quite an interesting human, Charlie!”

Charlie smirked as she replied, "Maybe... but I'm an alive human. And right now, that's all that matters"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments! Thank you so so much for reading lovelies and I'll see you next chapter!


	14. On Truce and Defiance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I live! Check the notes at the end for an explanation of why I have been gone for so long. General discretion is advised.

Charlie looked up from the sloppy mess of medical gauze as Mammon scoffed from his position kneeling in front of her, “So ya made it out of that without being attacked, only to end up fallin’ on your butt and sprainin’ your wrist. Seriously, could you be more of a klutz?”

Charlie blushed in shame and looked away, “Look, that demon tail-swiped my feet out from in under me. It’s not my fault!”

The ginger demon perched on the other side of Charlie’s bed nodded, “You humans really are way less physically capable than us demons. That’s because they don’t eat enough. And unlike us, they don’t eat the right things.”

Charlie giggled over at the Avatar of Gluttony, “I don’t think that’s the issue, here Beel.”

Mammon snapped, “Stop tying everything back to food, Beel!”

He glared at his brother for a moment before he inquired, “Actually, why’re you even here, anyway? Seems to me that you’ve been spendin’ an awful lot of time here ever since the night of the DVD marathon.”

Beel frowned back at Mammon, “Well, so have you. I mean, you’ve ever left a cell phone charger here. And a toothbrush, too.”

He smiled as he said, “That’s how much you’re over here.”

Charlie caught the blush on Mammon’s cheeks as he retorted, “W-well that’s because, uh… you know… I’ve gotta look after this human, don’t I?! It’s my job…”

Beel shook his head and frowned again, “Mammon, you’re doing a terrible job with those bandages”

Charlie looked down at her wrist. She didn’t want to say it but they were extremely loose and twisted in places. She was planning to just let him help and then fix them herself later. Mammon snapped back at Beel, “Hey, shut up! I’ve never had to wrap someone’s wrist before, okay? I don’t know how it works!”

He scoffed and stood, gesturing at the wrist annoyedly, “If you think I’m doin’ such a bad job, then why don’t YOU do it, Beel!”

Beel smiled happily as he munched on a piece of pizza, ‘Mm, nothing beats pizza for a midnight snack.”

Charlie giggled as Mammon exclaimed, “Dammit Beel, listen to me when I’m talking to you!”

Mammon stared at Beel for a moment before looking down at his own empty plate, “Wait a minute… Isn’t that MY slice you’ve got there in your other hand?!”

Beel turned and started walking out, “You know, I could really go for a soda right now. I’m going to go run to the kitchen.”

Mammon called after him, “Hey! Beel! You put down one of those slices you’re holdin’ right now! HEY!”

But Beel obviously wasn’t listening as he slammed the door behind him. Mammon sighed and turned, returning to his position kneeling in front of Charlie. He resumed his task of wrapping her wrist while grumbling, “Of all the… Seriously, does that guy ever stop eatin’?! You’d better keep a close eye on your pizza, or he’ll steal yours away next.”

Charlie giggled, “Do you want it? I’m not really that hungry right now”

Mammon scoffed and shook his head, “Ya need to eat. Maybe Beel was right about humans…”

Charlie smiled down at him as he fell silent. After a few moments of struggling with the bandages, Mammon looked away, “Ah… um, by the way… There’s somethin’ I want you to know.”

Charlie looked at him intensely as Mammon seemed to process what it was he was trying to say. After a moment he looked up at her and continued, “Listen. The next time your life’s in danger, I’m gonna be the one to save you, all right? Don’t you forget that.”

_Why… do you assume there’s going to be a next time? I mean you’re probably not wrong but…. Seriously what the hell. Rude._

She was pulled from her mental grumbling as Mammon stated, “And if I can’t manage to save ya, then make sure you die, got it?! I don’t want no one else steppin’ in and savin’ you, all right?! **It’s me or no one, understand?!** ”

Charlie blinked for a moment before a smile crept onto her face.

_He’s jealous. He wants to be my hero and he’s jealous that he didn’t get to. Lord help me that is so_ **_CUTE_ ** _!_

Charlie beamed warmly down at Mammon as she placed a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair, “All right, Mammon. I got it.”

He blushed at her, noticing the bright light radiating from her as he stuttered out, “G-Good… Jeez, you should always just agree with me like that.”

Charlie opened her mouth to say something when the sound of a D.D.D going off filled the room. Mammon pulled his device out of his pocket and checked, “Huh? That ain’t my phone. Is it yours?”

Charlie looked around as Mammon held her D.D.D out to her, “Hey, human… your D.D.D. 's ringing.”

Charlie unlocked the device to find three text messages from Leviathan. She let her eyes trail over the words for a moment:

_Come to the planetarium right away._

_We’ll talk when you get here._

_Come quick, okay?_

Charlie looked up to find Mammon staring at her quizzically. She stood and reached out with her uninjured hand, ruffling his hair. “I gotta head out for a bit. You can hang out here if you want. I’ll only be a few minutes”

Charlie walked slowly through the halls, unwrapping the mess of bandages on her wrist and rewrapping it properly. As she made her way down the stairs, she could feel the anxious knot forming in her chest. Did he want to pick back up where they had left off? Was he going to apologize? 

_Outlook not so good._

As Charlie pulled the door to the planetarium open, she realized she hadn’t had a chance to visit this part of the house yet and was stunned by the peaceful, almost romantic atmosphere. She looked around the circular room, taking in the tall, latticed windows and the glowing orbs suspended from the ceiling. She had just realized that they were in the design of planets as an annoyed voice cut through her revelry, “...Finally. I’ve been waiting for you to show up.”

Charlie turned her attention from the moonlit dome to find the purple haired demon glowering at her in agitation, “It took you long enough. When I call for you, you need to come right away, understand? Don’t walk, run. I want you moving at light speed.”

Charlie returned his glare.

_Excuse me who the fuck do you think-_

Her thought was cut off as he continued “Like the way Henry races over whenever his best friend the Lord of Shadow calls on him. You saw the TSL DVDs, so you should know.”

Charlie felt a tug at her heartstrings. He was like a lonely, petulant child. Leviathan’s face gained a warm smile as he continued “He comes riding up on the winged unicorn that he won off the Lord of Fools in a bet.”

He seemed to realize the comparison he was making as he corrected himself “Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you and I are best friends or anything. As if.”

Charlie sighed softly.

_A dumb petulant child._

“So, do you know why I called you here?”

Charlie tilted her head and blurted out her first thought “To eat me?”

Leviathan laughed “Huh! Good guess. You’re sharp. The truth is that I was planning on doing that until a minute ago.”

Charlie sighed softly. She would love it if she could have just one day - twenty four hours - without being threatened with death.

Leviathan brought his hand up in front of his face as he grumbled “Because I won’t stand for anyone else being a bigger TSL fan than me. It’s unacceptable! And what’s worse, you’re a human - a weak, insignificant one at that. It just totally defies belief. If I took you out of the picture by eating you, that would leave me as the sole king of all TSL mega fans, right?” 

_I mean… you’re not_ **_wrong_ ** _but you didn’t have to_ **_say_ ** _it._

Leviathan pouted “But Lucifer would get mad at me if I did, so I’ve given up on that idea”

_Well, at least you have a good reason._

Charlie crossed her arms and stared at the demon before her as he fell silent. An awkward tension hung between the two before Leviathan glared at her, “All right, look. Here’s the thing. You remember why we decided to have that competition in the first place, right? It was to see who the bigger TSL fan was. And I told you that if you won, I’d enter into a pact with you.”

Leviathan scoffed and shoved his hands aggressively into his jacket pockets “That little trump card you pulled out was a real dirty trick…”

He fidgeted uncomfortably for a second before continuing “but a promise is a promise, after all. It really kills me to do this… it makes my stomach churn. But, I’ll keep my end of the bargain.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, taken aback by this admission and wondering if she had heard him incorrectly. A small smile formed on Leviathan’s face as he proclaimed, “I’ll do it. I’ll make a pact with you.”

Charlie blinked, unsure of how to respond. Hesitantly she inquired “Are- are you plotting something?”

She immediately regretted the question as Leviathan’s face fell dejectedly. He seemed to shrink as he replied, “Ah, right. Of course you would say that. I guess you can’t help but be suspicious of others when you spend so much time around Mammon.”

Charlie gaped at him incredulously,

_You tried to kill me mere HOURS ago…. And just admitted to wanting to_ **_eat me_ ** _. How?! HOW IS THIS MAMMON’S FAULT?!_

Leviathan pouted, obviously trying to hide his hurt as he declared, “Well, it’s not like I care if you trust me, anyway.”

With that, Charlie felt the familiar internal pressure. She gasped, not expecting it this time. Leviathan just smirked at her. After a moment, the pressure was gone and the demon inquired, “So, what’s all this about anyway? There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there? A normie human like you asking to make a pact with a demon like me? You must have some sort of ulterior motive.”

Charlie sighed. She guessed it only made sense he would regard her with the same distrust she had for him. She had only wanted to be his friend from the beginning and asking him for something felt like it was cheapening that. Still… she had to climb those stairs.

“Lend me your copy of the TSL soundtrack.”

“AHA! I knew it! I knew no one would actually WANT to make a pact with me. Not like this is surprising or anything.”

Charlie winced internally - and a little externally - at the accusation. It wasn’t entirely true and even if it was, she felt so bad. Levi frowned softly, “Well, I don’t know what you’re planning on doing with my record but… just don’t sell it, understand?”

Charlie nodded, tuning him out as he began adding to the list of requirements for borrowing the vinyl. All things considered, Leviathan was probably the most troublesome of the brothers to deal with. As she followed him to his room to fetch the coveted record, he prattled on about the rarity of the item and how important it was. She couldn’t help but smile at the sparkle in his eyes when he talked.

_Still… worth it._

Charlie took a deep breath as she looked up at the door. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. After all, there was no telling what the punishment would be if Lucifer caught on to her ploy. Still, this was her best chance to find out what was up at the top of the stairs. Charlie held the vinyl record tightly against her chest as she knocked sharply against the wood. The deep velvet response came immediately, “The door’s open. Come in.”

Charlie pushed the door open and stepped in. Lucifer looked up from his desk smiling cordially “Ah, Charlie, it’s you. Today really was quite the disaster, wasn’t it?”

Charlie smiled awkwardly “Well…. No more so than usual I guess”

Lucifer frowned deeply, “Despite all that happened, you should know that Levi’s not normally like that. He may be a high-ranking demon, but he’s quite harmless by nature. Try not to hold it against him”

Charlie pressed her lips tightly together as she replied, “Oh yeah no, I just have that effect on people”

Lucifer smirked at her response, “So, tell me, what brings you here at this hour? More trouble sleeping?”

There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye at the last comment indicating that the question was a trap. Charlie refused to fall for it, instead silently presenting the TSL soundtrack to the demon.

Lucifer’s shocked expression made everything up to this point worth the struggle as he spluttered out, “Wh-! **Is this what I think it is?!** ”

After a few seconds, Lucifer regained his composure and smirked, “Ah, now I get it. So **this** is why you wanted to make a pact with Levi.”

Charlie swallowed, wondering if he’d already seen through her scheme. Lucifer continued, not seeming to notice Charlie’s nervous demeanor, “Do you realize what it is you’ve got here, what this represents?”

Charlie looked down at the vinyl record. She considered a sarcastic response but then considered her audience and instead shook her head slowly, “No, I actually don’t.”

Lucifer smiled cooly at her, “I don’t imagine you would. This isn’t any ordinary soundtrack, you see. There’s quite a history to it.”

Charlie looked between the demon and the record curiously as he continued, “I don’t have any particular interest in _The Tale of the Seven Lords_ as a story. No… what interests me is the person who served as the first composer for the TSL movies.”

Lucifer smirked darkly as he added, “You see, the composer I speak of is dead now. He killed himself.”

_Lucifer, what the fuck?!_

“The final song he wrote before his death was meant to be used in the scene where the Lord of Corruption puts a curse on the heroes. But due to the composer committing suicide, they decided not to use that track. They saved it, but didn’t release it to the public.”

Charlie was enthralled in the story at this point. Lucifer seemed aware of the intensity of her focus as his expression grew solemn, “However, a group of diehard fans pooled their own funds and have a very limited number of vinyl editions produced. As you might have guessed by now, this record is one of the few that were created.”

Charlie nodded slowly. She could understand Lucifer’s curiosity about the album given the history. Lucifer continued, “However, all of the people involved in its creation, as well as every single person who owned a copy of it, ended up dying mysteriously. So, people started saying the record itself was cursed.”

Charlie grew pale and leaned away from the offending item.

_Dammit Levi! YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!_

Lucifer smirked at her reaction as he stated, “I heard that all of these had been destroyed. But all this time, Levi has had a copy. I had no idea.”

Lucifer reached out, slipping the vinyl from her hands, “All right, I’ll go ahead and take this. We’ll consider it payment for saving you earlier.”

_Get it away, get it away, get it away, get it away_

“Still, I really do appreciate you bringing this to me. I think I’ll spend tonight savoring every last note of this music here…” he narrowed his eyes at her knowingly, “...which means I probably won’t be able to bring myself to leave my room tonight.”

Charlie was so enthralled by the seductive allure of his expression, she didn’t even register his words anymore. She was shaken from her stupor as he resumed his usual cordial smile and declared, “Well then, good night.”

Charlie stumbled out of the room, her head swimming with improper thoughts. After a moment she finally caught her breath and the realization struck her. 

_The stairs will be unsupervised all night!_

Charlie took a few slow steps before sprinting down the hall toward the tower. She skidded to a halt at the bottom of the spiral stairs, staring up at the light filtering down. She was about to break Lucifer’s express command not to climb the stairs. Charlie grinned at her own defiance before beginning her ascent to the attic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what had happened was: My phone was acting real weird so I ended up getting a new phone but I never transferred all my data from the app. Then some life stuff happened and things got way too overwhelming so I had to walk away for a while. But I have returned! Updates will be a bit more spread out than usual but they are coming!


	15. You Know Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Dissociation, PTSD, mental and emotional abuse, gaslighting
> 
> Please read with caution. This chapter has quite a bit of angst in it as well as allusions to some of the things in Charlie's past.

A voice floated down the stairs as Charlie climbed, “Charlie. Finally, no one is going to stop you. Come… this way, Charlie.” 

As she neared the top of the stairs, Charlie caught sight of a door, though it looked more like a gate. Only intricate weavings of wood - enough to keep the occupant contained but not enough to block the view of the interior. On the other side there stood a tall, young man with white streaked black hair wearing what appeared to be pajamas. As Charlie drew closer, she noticed he possessed a pair of familiar purple eyes.

The figure smiled as Charlie drew closer, “I knew you were the one person who’d be able to find me.”

His voice was soft and drowsy - containing a familiar drawl. Charlie looked him over and noted the softness of his face and the dark circles under his eyes - a stark contrast to his pale skin. She also noted that he challenged the lumbering Avatar of Gluttony in height - though his frame lacked the hulking musculature that Beel possessed. In fact, this figure bore a striking resemblance to her favorite gym companion. However, this man seemed to radiate exhaustion - from the way he slouched with his entire frame to the half-lidded expression on his face. Still, Charlie couldn’t deny that there was something dangerous in those tired eyes. If he was who she suspected, she would have to approach with caution. She continued forward as she asked, “Who are you?”

The boy scowled at the question, the dangerous glint in his eyes growing as he brought his hand up to his chest, “Who am I?”

Charlie halted a few steps from the door as he paused. He seemed to be sizing her up before he continued, “That’s a good question. I forgot the answer long ago, myself.”

Charlie frowned, unsatisfied by his reply. She narrowed her eyes as she probed further, “Are you a demon?”

His scowl dropped into an expression of disgust mixed with horror, “Don’t be ridiculous! Just the thought of being one of them is enough to send a shiver down my spine. I’m a human, **just like you.** ”

Charlie looked into those violet eyes as ice formed in her stomach. He was blatantly lying to her. He continued, paying no heed to her dubious expression, “A demon imprisoned me in here long ago, and I’ve been stuck here ever since.”

He searched her face for a moment before adding, “It was Lucifer. I’m guessing you’ve met him.”

Charlie nodded slowly. He seemed to take this as an indication of her faith in his story as he reiterated, “Well, that demon is the one who locked me in here”

He reached up and grasped the wood of the door - now seeming more like prison bars - as he pleaded, “I’m begging you, Charlie. You’ve got to get me out of here.”

Charlie could hear the sincerity in his plea. He really was begging. She could feel the conflict inside her growing. It was obvious that this person was dangerous and had no problem lying to her to achieve his goals. But as she looked back at his face, she could see how lonely and desperate he was. Something she could relate to all too well.

As this internal war raged within her, the boy spoke again, “I’m asking for your **help.** ”

Charlie tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him again, “Help you… how?”

The boy’s expression gained intensity as he replied, “That’s what I’m about to tell you. Make sure to listen closely.”

Charlie nodded and he took the signal to continue, “Now, you can’t open this door. Neither of us are capable of that. Because it’s sealed with a very powerful sort of magic.”

The boy smiled sadly, “In order to break the seal, you need the consent of **Lucifer and his six brothers.** But they’re not exactly nice folks. It’s not like all we have to do is ask politely and they’ll lift the seal. You must already know that, right?”

  
  


Charlie could feel the pit in her stomach deepening, already seeing where this was going. She nodded slowly as his smile grew wider and darker, “But you’re a special case. You can make them do it.”

“So… you want me to ask them to do it?”

He chuckled and his smile grew softer, “Oh no, there’s no need to do that! Because **you** have the power to **bend demons to your will.** ”

_When you put it like that it just sounds twisted._

“What I’m trying to say is that you should make **pacts** with these demons - **all of them**. You’ve already got Mammon and Leviathan under your control, right? Well, doing the same to the rest of them will be just as simple.”

_Simple?! I ALMOST DIED LAST TIME!_

Realization struck Charlie and she eyed the captive suspiciously, “Wait, how do you know about that?”

The boy scoffed and turned his face, “That’s not important,”

_Question dodging. Not suspicious at all, my guy._

“What matters is that I’m counting on you to come through for me, Charlie. You’re the only one who can help me now.”

Charlie felt a pang of panic rise in her chest. She could hear the boy speaking but his words weren’t registering. Memories crashed over her - vivid and real as the man standing before her. She moved as if on autopilot, passively agreeing as he suggested she try to form a pact with Beelzebub first. He smiled - though his face wasn’t the one appearing in her mind - and told her he was counting on her.

Charlie descended the stairs, her mind a complete fog. Her body was moving, but she wasn’t the one moving it. Was she? She couldn’t tell. Was she even breathing? As the door to her room slowly creaked open, Charlie couldn’t remember how she’d even reached the room. The memories were still crashing over her, though Charlie was completely numb. She was so checked out, she didn’t even notice the Avatar of Greed standing in front of her until he thumped her forehead, “Hello! Earth to human! Are ya in there?!”

Charlie jumped and looked up at Mammon with panic in her eyes. He pouted down at her, “About time! You should listen when the Great Mammon speaks! In fact, ya should hang off of every word I say.” 

Charlie gaped up at him vacantly, unsure of how to respond. Mammon didn’t even skip a beat in his tirade “Now, as I was sayin’, what took you so long? You said it’d only be a few minutes but ya been gone almost an hour!”

Charlie’s lips parted and for a moment she considered telling him everything. Not just about the man in the attic but every memory that was currently drowning her. For a split second every dark blemish she carried threatened to spill out from the thin crack in her lips onto the demon standing before her. But as she looked up into those clueless blue eyes, she found the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she pried her lips into a forced smile and reached up, ruffling his hair, “Sorry, Mammon, I didn’t think it would take that long.”

Mammon furrowed his brow as he looked over her face, “The hell’s wrong with you? Yer acting weird… weirder than normal. And that’s pretty weird.”

Charlie chuckled mirthlessly, “I’m fine. Just tired. I think I’m gonna go ahead and turn in.”

Mammon stared at her dubiously but shrugged, “That makes sense. You humans are so weak and fragile. But still, ya shouldn’ta made me waste my time here if you were just gonna kick me out as soon as you got back.”

Charlie swallowed the lump in her throat as she replied, “I’m sorry, Mammon.”

Mammon looked down at her frowning for a moment before placing his hands on his hips, “Ah… yeah. Well, good. I’ll uh… I’ll go and let you get some rest, then. Can’t have you falling over dead of exhaustion”

“Thank you. Good night, Mammon”

He looked at her with a concerned expression, “Yeah… good night”

With an uneasy feeling, Mammon made his way out of the room. Charlie closed the door behind him and locked it with a loud ‘click’. She pressed her head against the door and listened for the receding footsteps. When she could no longer hear his steps, she sank to her knees and covered her mouth as the muffled sobs escaped her. 

_How dare you?! How DARE you try to_ **_BLEED_ ** _all over him?!_

Charlie whimpered and reached up, gripping her hair with both hands as she clenched her eyes shut as tightly as she could.

_You’re so **WEAK!** You know better! YOU KNOW BETTER! _ **_YOU KNOW BETTER!_ **

She curled into a ball, resting her forehead on the floor. She trembled as she sobbed silently - the memories continued to crash over her even as she berated herself.

_You pathetic bitch! He’s right! You’re so goddamned weak! You’re falling apart over NOTHING! Nothing even **happened**! So what if he sounded like Craig?! What good do you think would come from telling Mammon about your past?! Do you think he would save you?! And from what?! From a man who isn’t even in your life anymore?! Why are you so afraid?! You’re so stupid and overdramatic! _

Charlie felt the sobs subsiding as she lay curled on the floor. She felt the comforting numbness begin to overtake her as the memories began to recede. Still the voice remained.

_You’re so dramatic! This is nothing like Craig! You hear one stupid basic phrase and you’re losing your goddamn mind! You’re so goddamn pathetic. And then you tried to drag Mammon into this?! Because you're so weak you can't move on?! You're supposed to be stronger than this! You're supposed to be past this already! Weak! Stupid! You know better._

As Charlie slowly drifted out of consciousness, that one phrase repeated over and over in her head.

_You know better._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think!


	16. Custard and Trauma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! 
> 
> This one is a bit longer than the previous chapter to make up for the pain inflicted from last time. I hope you all enjoy it! Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Charlie woke to darkness. She pushed herself up slowly as pain stabbed and throbbed throughout her entire spine. She reached up and rubbed her swollen eyes as the memory of the night before slowly played through her mind. She looked down at herself, finding that she was still wearing her uniform from the day before. She pulled out her D.D.D. to find the device completely dead. She had no idea what time it was but was sure that she was late.

With a heavy sigh and an even heavier body, Charlie drudged across the room to the bed and plugged up the device. Charlie made her way towards the bathroom, dreading the next part of this process. As she entered the room, she first paused to look into the mirror. Puffy bloodshot eyes stared back at her. She had red streaks running down her cheeks and her hair was sticking up in the air at several odd angles. Her clothes were crumpled and it looked like one of the top buttons of her shirt had popped off while she was sleeping. She made a mental note to search for it later as she began to strip.

There are many things to be said about the rejuvenative and transformative powers of a long hot shower. As Charlie stepped out into the steam filled bathroom air, she felt like a human being again - a hollow, tired human being - but a human being. She dressed quickly, completely neglecting any sort of styling to her hair, and checked her D.D.D. She was definitely running late but she could probably make it to her first class before the first bell.

As Charlie entered the dining room in the hopes of finding some scraps of breakfast left behind, she found a stern faced Lucifer instead.

“Good Morning, Charlie.”

Charlie only nodded in response, not yet ready to trust herself with words.Lucifer didn’t seem to mind as he continued,

“I have to say, I enjoyed last night immensely. I listened to that record over and over - I can’t tell you how many times.”

He smiled, “And because of that, I’m running on far too little sleep today. But I’m in a great mood.”

_That makes one of us._

“I see you’re up late today. I take it you didn’t get much sleep either”

He frowned and eyed her face curiously, “Did something happen last night to keep you up?”

Charlie swallowed hard and looked away from him as she quietly replied, “Nope… nothing.”

The Avatar of Pride raised an eyebrow and continued to search her face - even as she avoided eye contact, “Nothing? Well, if that’s really the case, fine. However…”

Charlie managed to drag her eyes back to his face as he stared down at her with a piercing gaze. She regretted the choice as he continued, “Let me give you a piece of advice. You should focus on surviving this year here, finishing the exchange program and going back to the human world.That’s all you need to concern yourself with.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Would you like me to make it a bit clearer for you?”

Charlie nodded slowly.

“‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ Surely you’ve heard this expression? Well, curiosity can very literally get **you** killed here as well.”

He smiled cooly, “Hmm, I guess that’s more of what you’d call a word of warning than a piece of advice.”

Charlie hoped he didn’t notice her exhausted sigh as he tilted his head coyly, “Eh, but why split hairs?”

His expression grew stern once more as he stated, “Forget all about what happened last night. I allowed you to satisfy your own curiosity as a favor to you since you brought me that record.”

_Hell of a favor._

“But rest assured, it won’t happen again.”

_Lucifer: Avatar of Not-So-Veiled-Threats_

Charlie simply nodded in return. Lucifer seemed satisfied with this and turned, leaving Charlie alone with the weight of yet another threat against her life.

  
  


With her quest for sustenance proving futile, Charlie made her way to RAD. She barely made it into the classroom before the first bell. As she took her seat next to Mammon, she could feel him glancing at her. Charlie tried to ignore him throughout the classes but she was unable to focus on the teacher at all.

By the time they reached a free period, Mammon seemed to have forgotten his inquisitions and was instead focused on his mid-morning snack. As he bickered with Beel over custody of the sandwich, Charlie felt like she was observing the entire scene through murky waters. It was so hard to focus on the conversation at hand. 

Charlie became aware of Mammon yelling at her, “Hey, Charlie! Don’t just sit there watching! Say somethin’ to Beel!”

Charlie blinked, not fully aware of what she was supposed to say, “Uh… you… shouldn’t have done that, Beel?”

Mammon crossed his arms and gave a self-satisfied nod, “You’re damn straight he shouldn’t have! Hey, are you listening, Beel?! Did ya hear that?!”

“You know, it really could’ve used some pickles. The sandwich felt like it was missing something without them.” Was the only reply that the Avatar of Gluttony presented.

Charlie turned her attention away from the exchange again, only to catch sight of a familiar figure approaching with a gentle smile, “Hey there, you three. It’s so nice to see how well you all get along.”

Charlie could feel a smile form on her face at the sound of Simeon’s voice. It was such a warm and clear sound. As Mammon and Luke bickered, Simeon turned his attention to Charlie. His smile faded for a second as he met her eyes. Charlie quickly broke from his gaze, turning her attention to the nearby argument. She wondered if he could see through her facade. Could he tell that she wasn’t connected to her body? Was he able to see her weakness?

_What powers do angels even have? Can he read minds? Oh fuck, please tell me he can’t read minds._

But her anxiety dissipated as Simeon broke up Mammon and Luke, “Mammon, I know how cute Luke is when he’s frustrated, but I think you’ve harassed him enough. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop.”

He wore a stern expression and Charlie couldn’t help but admire how well it suited him. She indulged herself with fantasies of other scenarios that might draw that expression out of him as the conversation continued to slip by her. 

Her attention was once again pulled back to reality as Simeon said, “We’re actually planning to go on a camping trip soon, you see. We thought it would be a good way to have fun and get to know each other better.”

The angel resumed his warm smile and turned his gaze from Mammon to Charlie as he continued, “And that’s why I’m here to **invite** you. We’d love it if you’d all join us.”

Charlie averted her gaze once more as Mammon complained, “Wha? Ugh, so it’s another one of your lame ideas. You always do this…”

Charlie looked between the demon and the angel, wondering just what he meant by “always”. Mammon crossed his arms and scoffed, “Listen, for starters, camping is a total drag. Isn’t that right, Beel?”

Beel smiled absently, “Hmm, camping… That would mean cooking out… Ooh, and roasting marshmallows… **I’m in.** ” 

Charlie chuckled softly at the giant demon. Mammon let out a long suffering sigh and replied, “Ya see, this is your problem, Beel. You’ve gotta quit lettin’ your stomach make decisions for you.”

The Avatar of Greed turned to Charlie and shrugged, “So, what do you think about this camping thing, Charlie?”

Charlie looked around as all eyes turned to her. She tried to keep the panic under control as she shrugged, “Sounds like fun.”

Mammon pouted, “I was afraid you’d say that. So, we’ve got another fan of camping here, huh? This sucks. Just bein’ around people like you is a drag.”

_Then go somewhere else._

Simeon just smiled brightly, “Well, just keep in mind that we’re going camping, and you’re invited.”

He looked down as his D.D.D. went off and exclaimed, “Uh oh, it seems I have a phone call. If you’ll excuse me, I should really take this. You three take care now.”

With a smile flashed to the group, the taller angel excused himself. Charlie watched him go with heaviness setting into her chest. His presence seemed to shine a light through the murk in her head. She could already feel herself drifting out of the moment.

  
  


As the free period ended, Charlie wandered from the classroom as absent as she had been the entire day. She knew that this would pass - it always did - but it didn’t make the struggle any less difficult. Unable to bring herself to spend another class period listening to the white noise of a lecture, she found a nook underneath one of the numerous staircases and pulled out her cigarettes. She leaned her back against the underside of the stairs and placed one of the smokes between her lips. As she struggled with her lighter, a crystal clear voice called out, “Need a light?”

Charlie jumped and spun, finding Simeon leaning over her shoulder, “Fucking shit!”

Simeon chuckled and stood upright, smiling down at her playfully, “Not really the reaction I expected but I can’t say I’m disappointed. Though, I must say I can’t condone your choice in wording.”

Charlie blushed deeply and scoffed, “Given my knowledge of the Bible, I would’ve assumed angels expect dramatic reactions to suddenly appearing.”

Simeon held out a small box of matches, “Dramatic, yes. Explicit, not so much.”

Charlie accepted the matches, striking one to light her cigarette as she chuckled, “And yet enabling bad habits is no biggie?”

Simeon tilted his head - his smile widening, “I don’t recall the Bible mentioning tobacco anywhere”

Charlie extinguished the match and took a drag, returning the box as she replied through a breath of smoke, “Fair point. Thanks for that. I think my lighter is out of fluid.”

Simeon accepted the matches and tucked them away into the folds of his cloak, “Charlie…. Are you alright?”

Charlie met his gaze and studied his features for a moment. His face was fraught with concern - genuine and deep worry. She looked away and took a drag of the cigarette, letting the burning sensation fill her throat and lungs, before replying, “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

Simeon frowned deeply, “You don’t seem fine. Are you struggling with the exchange program? If it’s too much we can speak with Dia-”

“No! That’s not… it’s fine. It’s just… some personal stuff. It’s not important.”

A soft hand cupped her cheek, turning her face towards Simeon’s. His blue eyes seemed to bore into her as he said, “Little Lamb, even if it’s only important to you, it is still important. You don’t have to speak to me about it if you don’t want but please, don’t force yourself to suffer in silence. Especially when there are those who only wish to help.”

Charlie blushed deeply and swallowed. She felt all the tension in her body drop like a stone. She took a deep, shuddered breath and smiled softly, “Thank you, Simeon. I appreciate the sentiment. But I’m used to dealing with things like this on my own. I promise, I’ll be fine.”

Charlie could swear she could see Simeon’s heart breaking through those sky blue eyes. He smiled sadly and pulled his hand from her cheek, “I understand that you are a strong person, Charlie - amazingly so. And I know that I can’t force you to accept my help. But I am here should you need or want me to be.”

Charlie took another drag of her cigarette and looked away, “Thank you, Simeon. I really do appreciate it…”

She glanced over at him for a moment, deliberating on how honest she wanted to be, before continuing, “Honestly… Just having you here…. Helps a lot.”

She smirked up at him, “Though, I’m a bit surprised you are. Didn’t figure you the type to skip classes.”

Simeon chuckled softly and replied, “I’m not, normally. However, the call from earlier took much longer than I had anticipated. I was actually on my way to class when I saw you ducking under the stairs.”

Charlie grinned cheekily, “Ah, so what you’re saying is I’m a bad influence.”

Simeon laughed and Charlie could feel her heart flutter, “Yes, Charlie, that is exactly what I’m saying. Next thing you know, I’ll be the one smoking in a stairwell in the middle of class.”

Charlie leaned her head back and took a long, deep pull from the cigarette - still grinning. She released the breath and giggled, “All the cool kids are doing it!”

The two shared a laugh and began to chat idly under the stairs for the remainder of the class period. As the bell rang to dismiss the classes, Simeon turned to face the quickly filling hallway, “Ah, it appears the next class is starting…”

He turned back to Charlie with a concerned expression, “Do you want to head back to the House of Lamentation early? I can escort you.”

Charlie watched the demons scurrying to their next classes. She took a deep breath and looked back at the worried angel, “I think I can handle the rest of the day. Thank you, Sim-”

She was cut off by an annoyed voice calling out, “OY! HUMAN!”

The pair turned as Mammon came storming through the hall, pushing other demons out of the way. He stopped in front of the pair and placed his hands on his hips, “What part of you are a weak and fragile human do you not understand?! Every time I turn around you’re wanderin’ off and gettin’ into trouble! And now yer skippin’ classes?! Do I need to put you on a leash? I will!”

Simeon cleared his throat to stifle a chuckle and interjected, “Apologies, Mammon. Charlie needed to talk to me about something privately and I’m afraid that I kept her for far too long.”

Mammon and Charlie both turned to face the Angel with matching expressions of surprise. Simeon smiled and turned to Charlie, “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I hope I was able to help.”

Charlie felt her face growing hot and her insides fluttery as she replied, “Yes. Thank you so much. It was a big help.”

She beamed up at Simeon for a moment before turning to a very obviously jealous Avatar of Greed, “Mammon, I’m sorry for worrying you again. How about I treat you to lunch to make up for it?”

Mammon immediately perked up, “You’re buying? Well, in that case I’ll have a…” he began a lengthy order that Charlie obviously couldn’t afford as he turned and began to make his way down the hall. Charlie started after Mammon before pausing to turn and cast a final smile back at Simeon. The angel returned it sweetly for a moment before Charlie turned and trotted away, calling after Mammon to wait up.

Simeon watched after her receding figure as she disappeared into the crowded hallway. A concerned frown overtook his features as one statement hung heavily on his mind.

_“But I’m used to dealing with things like this on my own._ ”

  
  
  


The rest of the day passed by slowly but more easily than the morning. The walk home was the same as usual - Mammon complaining the whole way. Charlie was beginning to find his constant stream of whining to be comforting background noise. It kept her from being alone with her thoughts. Once back to the House of Lamentations, Charlie made her way straight to her room and locked the door. She didn’t have the energy to deal with shenanigans right now. 

Instead, she began looking for the button to her shirt in front of the door. She found that it had gotten wedged between two of the floorboards in her sleep - most likely the method of removal. After making quick work of re-attaching it to the shirt in question, Charlie found herself without anything to occupy her thoughts. Luckily, she was tired enough that she figured she could turn in early and make up for the poor sleep the night before. 

Charlie was pulled from her sleep by the sound of her D.D.D. going off. With an extremely agitated growl, she snatched up the device and checked the new messages.

_I’m feeling a little hungry._

_Come meet me in the kitchen. Now._

_Just to be clear, it’s not like I’m afraid Lucifer might catch me if I go alone. That's not what this is about._

_Seriously, that’s not what this is about! For real, it isn’t!_

Charlie let out a laborious sigh and threw an arm over her eyes. She contemplated ignoring him entirely and going back to sleep. But as she lay there, she could feel her own stomach churning with emptiness. She groaned as she accepted she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep. She threw on the shirt that Beel had given her and headed down towards the kitchen.

Mammon was already there waiting in his casual outfit - complete with pout, “Took ya long enough. Listen, when I call you, you need to come lickity-split. I’m hungry, and I’m in a bad mood to boot. Ya shoulda known that.”

Charlie glared up at him, “I was asleep. I didn’t know shit.”

Mammon shrugged and turned away, “Well, whatever. Let’s have a look inside the fridge and see what we can find.”

Charlie sighed as he pried open the fridge door and began rummaging inside. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms, “Anything good?”

Mammon stood and glanced over at her, “Ugh, no. There’s nothin’ good in here.”

He leaned forward and squinted, “Wait… now what do we have here?”

He reached in and pulled out a small glass jar, “Looks like a custard.”

Charlie leaned over and looked down at the jar curiously. The Avatar of Greed held it out, “Here, eat this. I need an accomplice. I don’t wanna be the only one in trouble.”

As he shoved the jar into her hands, Charlie felt paper brush her fingers. She held the jar up to read the note attached, “Property of Beelzebub. You eat it, you die.”

Charlie looked up at the grinning demon as he proclaimed, “You’ve gotta be seriously brave to eat this custard here. If you can do that, I’ll admit that you’ve got guts.”

He leaned closer to her, still grinning, “So, you’re gonna do it, right?”

He leaned back and placed his hands on his hips, “What am I sayin’? Do it. That’s an order.”

Charlie glared up at him, “Why don’t **you** eat it, Mammon?”

Mammon threw his hands up in an exasperated gesture, “Were you even listening to what I said? If I’m the only one eatin’ this stuff, and I end up gettin’ caught, then I’ll take all of the blame.”

_Well, yeah. This was your idea._

“You’re already an accomplice to this. You were from the second you agreed to meet me here.”

_I agreed to nothing._

“So, go on, eat it!”

Charlie rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Fine, whatever. Bossy li’l shit.”

She opened the jar and put it to her lips, shooting it back in one gulp like a shot of whiskey. Mammon grinned, “There we go.”

There was a purr to his voice that made Charlie blush and choke on the custard. She managed to force it down and stare over at Mammon as he said, “You did it. You totally ate Beel’s custard! I saw ya!”

Charlie reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

_Jesus Christ, either my mind lives in the gutter or this is way more suggestive than I originally thought. Either way, that just sounded so wrong._

Mammon beamed at her, “Great, now I’ve got an accomplice. If you ate his stuff too, that means we’re in this boat together!”

Charlie set the empty jar on the counter and watched Mammon resume rummaging through the fridge for more food to pilfer. Suddenly, she noticed movement on the other side of the fridge door and felt her stomach drop, “Uuuuh…”

_Seriously, how is he_ **_so large_ ** _AND_ **_so QUIET?!_ **

Mammon popped up and looked over at her quizzically before following her gaze, “D’AH! Beel!”

Charlie took a step back, realizing that she was currently the only guilty party.

Mammon took a breath and tried to puff up his chest, “Wh-What’s the big idea sneakin’ up on me like that? How long have you been there?”

Beelzebub didn’t even seem to notice Charlie’s presence as he locked his furious glare on Mammon, “...Did you eat my custard?”

He looked between Mammon and the empty glass jar, “Did you actually eat my CUSTARD?! Answer me, Mammon!”

Charlie swallowed and took another slow step backwards. Mammon put his hands up defensively, “N-Now wait a second, Beel! Lemme explain! There’s a good reason for-”

“You did, didn’t you…?”

Charlie watched in horror as Beel’s appearance suddenly shifted - just as Leviathan’s had at the Trivia match. Large black horns curled around in front of his forehead, turning up like a halo that had been cut from below. He was wearing a buckle and rivet clad black leather jacket over what appeared to be a tank top, black jeans, and black cowboy boots. Charlie could see tribal tattoos on the sides of his throat and the top of his chest as well as what appeared to be giant insect wings twitching behind him.

Charlie stumbled backwards as Beelzebub roared, “ **You… ate… my…. CUSTARD!** ”

She couldn’t seem to process the fact that she was about to die over a dessert. 

_Yeah, no. This seems pretty fitting for the week I’ve had._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!


	17. Between Compassion and Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Mentions of abuse, victim blaming, gaslighting, and allusion to rape.

Charlie shuffled her feet as Lucifer looked between herself, Beelzebub, and Mammon disapprovingly. “And then what happened?”

Mammon threw his head back - hands on his hips - and groaned, “COOOME OOON! How many times are ya gonna make me say it?”

He sighed and lolled his head to the side dramatically, “I was hungry, so I went to the kitchen lookin’ for something to eat…”

He jabbed his thumb towards the younger demon, “And while I was diggin’ through the fridge, Beel suddenly came up and  **attacked me** !”

The ginger giant crossed his arms and glared over Charlie’s head at the Avatar of Greed, “You at  **my** custard.”

Mammon turned to face Beel, pointing at him angrily, “No, I DIDN’T eat your custard, Beel. I told ya, I was  **just holdin’** it in my hand, that’s all.”

“Liar. You were eating it. I could tell. The lid was off.”

“Wha? Well don’t look at me. It was probably open to begin with.”

“I made sure to write my name on it, and you  **still** ate it.”

Charlie stood awkwardly between the angry demons, hands clutched to her chest and eyes locked firmly on the ground in front of her. The weight of her sins crushed down on her soul. 

_ It’s me. I’m the custard thief. How was I supposed to know that Beel was going to destroy the kitchen over it?! Am I going to have to pay for the repairs? I don’t have that much money! I work part time as a waitress! What am I going to do?! _

She was pulled from her panic as she heard Mammon declare, “... ‘cause the human is the one who ate it.”

Charlie glared at Mammon as all eyes turned to her. The Avatar of Greed just gave her a look that seemed to beg for confirmation. Charlie sighed in annoyance and grumbled, “I got a sudden urge… and I couldn’t stop myself…”

Mammon grinned patronizingly, “Well, you are a  **human** , after all. Humans are just stupid like that… it’s in your nature. Nothin’ that can be done about that.”

Charlie could feel her temper flaring.

_ I didn’t even want to fucking BE THERE! You pompous, lying ASS! _

Beelzebub retorted, “You’re a demon, Mammon,  **yet** you’re still stupid…”

Charlie smirked as Mammon sputtered, “Hey… wha? That’s mean!”

Lucifer’s deep voice cut through the banter like a cold, sharp knife, “So, let me get this straight. Mammon was hungry, so he went rummaging for food in the kitchen late at night, and he dragged Charlie along with him. That’s when he found Beel’s custard. Then, he talked Charlie into eating the custard.”

He glared at the Avatar of Greed before turning his crimson gaze to Beel, “And when Beel saw what had happened, he was so angry that he lost control of himself and went on a rampage. The kitchen ended up getting  **destroyed** , along with Charlie’s room, which was directly over it.”

He returned his gaze to Mammon and his voice grew harsher as his anger seemed to reach its peak, “All because of  **your little prank** .”

Mammon ducked his head a bit and smiled nervously, “Well, I guess that pretty much sums it up, yeah?”

Beel added mournfully, “My custard…”

Lucifer crossed his arms and tilted his head back, “Now listen, and listen well. First of all, you three-”

Mammon groaned quietly, “Ugh… I can tell this is gonna take forever.”

Charlie hissed back, “And whose fault is that?!”

Beel bemoaned, “It’s not fair.  **I’m** the victim here.”

Lucifer tilted his head dangerously, “Did you two just say something?”

The three jumped and Mammon stuttered, “Wha? ...no nothin’.”

With that, Lucifer launched into a lecture that lasted three long hours. Charlie couldn’t remember the last time she had heard anyone talk that long without a break. He was absolutely relentless. Honestly, she was as impressed as she was exhausted.

“... So, now that we’ve got that straight, I expect each of you to learn something from all of this.”

_ Today I learned that Lucifer is almost definitely capable of lecturing someone to death. _

Mammon stood slumped forward as if all will to live had been drained from his body, “W… wow… that took forever…”

Beelzebub clutched his stomach, frowning deeply, “I’m hungry…”

The Avatar of Pride turned to Charlie, his expression stern and measured, “Charlie, it seems you won’t be able to use your room for some time. You know, since it lacks a floor now.”

He turned to the younger of his two siblings, “So, for the time being, I want you to stay in  **Beel’s** room.”

This declaration was met with a dramatic exclamation from Mammon, “WHA?! Now just a second. Why’re ya putin’ her in  **his** room? I mean, there’s enough space in  **my** room, isn’t there?!”

Lucifer smirked at the silver haired demon, “This is a trivial matter, Mammon. Don’t get jealous over it. It shows immaturity.”

Mammon blushed and sputtered, “Wha…  **jealous** ?! Wh-Wh-Who’re you callin’ jealous?! As if I’d be jealous… pff! Anyway, she has a pact with  **me** !”

Lucifer’s face dropped into an annoyed scowl, “Your pact is irrelevant. Also, if I’m not mistaken, there’s an extra bed in Beel’s room.”

Mammon simply growled in response as Lucifer turned his scowl to the massive ginger demon, “Do you understand, Beel? This  **isn’t** a request.”

Beelzebub nodded slowly, “Yeah. I understand.”

Mammon crossed his arms and grumbled, “Ugh. This sucks…”

Charlie just watched tiredly before turning to follow the quiet giant to her temporary accommodations.

  
  


As Beel opened the door to Charlie, she was amazed at how cozy but elegant the room was. The room was split in half down the middle by the decor. The left side was orange with a large golden sun painted on the wall at the head of the bed. There were pictures of sunsets and bright blue skies hung around the bed. The opposite side of the room was purple with a golden moon and stars painted in the same gold paint and style behind the second bed. There were pictures of the night sky adorning this side of the room. Between the two was an end table with a chair on each side that matched the corresponding room side that it was on in front of a doorway that led to a spiral staircase up to a small balcony. 

Charlie dropped the bag of clothes that had been recovered from the wreckage of her room and looked around for a moment before a realization struck her.

_ There are two beds… _

Charlie’s mind flashed back to the man in the attic. She could feel her spine begin to tighten at the memories so she shook her head and turned, moving towards the sun themed side of the room. Beelzebub spoke up, “That’s my bed.”

Charlie stopped and turned, ready to apologize. Before she had a chance, Beel continued, “But that’s fine. You go ahead and use it.”

He glanced over at the purple bed, “Don’t use the bed on the right. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Charlie furrowed her brows in confusion, “Why?”

Beel looked at her, though Charlie could see that his mind was somewhere else entirely. After an extended pause he replied, “The bed on the right is my twin brother’s.”

The Avatar of Gluttony had such a forlorn expression on his face that Charlie could feel her heart breaking for him. Beel seemed to return to the conversation, his eyes finally focusing on her, “His name is Belphegor. He’s in the human world right now as an exchange student.”

_ I don’t think he is, sweetie. _

Charlie tilted her and smiled gently, “You’ve got a twin brother?”

Beelzebub smiled back sweetly, “Yeah. We don’t look alike though. Actually, we’re total opposites.”

His expression dropped quickly as he said, “Belphie had a falling out with Lucifer, so he was chosen to be an exchange student.”

He looked away, his frown deepening, “Belphie didn’t want to go, but he was forced.”

_ He looks so sad. God I wanna do something. Anything. _

Charlie was slowly reaching toward Beel when he seemed to snap back out of his despair and turned to her with a stern expression, “So  **don’t** mention his name in front of Lucifer.”

Charlie froze for a second, looking into his eyes. She pulled her hand back and clasped it to her chest. She nodded slowly before replying, “I want to know more about Belphegor.”

Beel reached up, rubbing the back of his head as he stated plainly, “Even though we’re twins, all that means is that our father made us at the same time. It’s not like we’re alike in any way.”

He smiled warmly,”Still, Belphie and I always got along. We used to have a little sister, Lilith. So the three of us were always together: me, Belphie, and Lilith.”

Charlie returned his smile. He was definitely the sweetest of the demon brothers and the more time she spent with Beelzebub, the more fond she was of him. She also appreciated just how honest he was. Between his words and his facial expressions, there was no manipulation to him. No intrigue, no complexity. She felt oddly safe in his presence. Would he kill her over a snickers bar? Probably. But at least he didn’t seem to be trying to mess with her head at all. And that was a comfort that Charlie desperately needed.

His expression slowly grew somber as he broke the silence that she hadn’t even realized was hanging between them, “But that was a long time ago now.”

Charlie tilted her head, thinking about his previous statement, “I want to know more about Lilith.”

Beel grew uncomfortable at the request. He looked down and shook his head, “I don’t feel like talking about her right now.”

Charlie nodded and reached out, placing a hand on his arm, “That’s okay. You don’t have to. I’m sorry.”

For a moment, their eyes met and Beel looked like he was conflicted. He pulled his arm away from her and turned away, “When Belphie returns to the Devildom, you’ll go back to the human world. Which means you two are never gonna meet each other.”

Charlie thought back to the man in the attic again. She had a wrenching feeling in her gut.

_ I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Beel. _

“What? Why’re you staring at me like that?”

Charlie opened her mouth, once again feeling the words getting caught in her throat. She closed her mouth as Beelzebub shifted uncomfortably and added, “I told you, didn’t I? Belphie and I are twins, but we don’t look alike.”

Charlie swallowed hard, seeing an opportunity to confirm her suspicions. “I’d like to see a picture of Belphegor’s face.”

Beel looked at her for a moment before nodding, “You know the portrait hall, right? I’m pretty sure there’s a picture of him there.”

Charlie followed after Beel as he led her out to the hall. As he pointed to one of the portraits, Charlie felt ice run through her veins, “See? Right there, that’s Belphie.”

_ I knew it... The man in the attic  _ **_is_ ** _ Belphegor.  _

Charlie turned, “Ah, I need to go check on something before I call it a night, okay?”

Beel just grunted in response and turned, returning his gaze to the portrait of his twin.

Charlie stalked through the halls, shoulder squared and jaw clenched. She moved with purpose as she stalked towards the stairwell. To her relief, they were unguarded. She ascended quickly, practically jogging as she reached the top. As she made her way to the door, the seventh brother was there looking out, “Ah, it’s you.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “So, how did it go? I trust you haven’t forgotten what I told you? Have you managed to gain Beelzebub’s trust somewhat?”

Charlie glared at him. There was no ice in her stomach this time, only fire in her chest.

“Are you Belphegor?”

It was more of a statement than a question. He pouted and shook his head, “Aww, so you’ve already figured me out, have you? Well, you’re no fun at all.”

Charlie clenched her fists at her side as he smiled at her, “That’s right. I’m Belphegor, Avatar of Sloth. And I’m the seventh demon living here in this building.”

Charlie tried to keep her voice even and low as she asked the question that had been burning in her mind since they met, “Why… did you lie to me?”

He gazed at her in confusion for a moment, “Why did I  **lie** to you….?”

A look of realization crossed his face, “Ah, you must be referring to how I pretended to be a human.”

He shrugged nonchalantly and replied, “It wasn’t so much that I lied to you, more that I was teasing you.”

He chuckled, “Though I figured it wouldn’t be long before you found out the truth either way.”

He smiled with the same sweet smile that she had seen on Beel’s face only moments ago as he said, “Humans really are a stupid, foolish lot.”

Charlie gritted her teeth as she stared into those violet eyes. She could feel the condescension radiating from them as he looked back at her. 

_ How could someone like  _ **_THIS_ ** _ be related twins with someone so-  _

Her thoughts were cut short as the Avatar of Sloth inquired, “Did Beel actually tell you about me?”

Charlie looked away from him and scoffed, “Yes.”

She could hear the smile on his face as he replied, “Well, that alone suggests that he trusts you. He and my other brothers all believe that I was forced to go to the human world as an exchange student, don’t they?”

Charlie looked back to find him grinning sadistically and felt the chill return to her spine as he declared, “I’d  **love** to see the looks on their faces if they found out that Lucifer was actually keeping me up here in this filthy attic.”

He chuckled sinsterly and Charlie glared at him. Beelzebub’s forlorn expression, the sad tone of his voice - it all filled her mind. How dare he laugh at the idea of seeing that face?! Charlie’s fists creaked as she tightened her grip. Belphegor’s eyes flitted to her white knuckles for only a second before returning to her face, “But now you know the truth, don’t you?”

He titled his head, a bored expression passing onto his face, “I lied to you, sure. But Lucifer did lock me up in here. That’s the truth.”

Charlie clicked her tongue before replying in a harsh tone, “Why don’t you get your brothers to help you?”

Belphegor glared back at her and held his hand up to his chest, “If that were possible, I would’ve done it long ago.”

He shook his head and continued, “Think about it. If my other brothers learned about my current situation, what do you think they’d do?”

He frowned, “I’m sure they’d fly into a fit of rage and confront Lucifer about it. And if that happened, it wouldn’t be any ordinary family squabble.”

Charlie was surprised to see genuine concern and a hint of fear cross his face as he closed his eyes and said, “No, it might very well devolve into a war that would envelop the entire Devildom.”

He opened his eyes and met hers, “If worst came to worst, even the human world wouldn’t be spared its effects.”

Belphegor sighed heavily and sincerity filled his voice as he said, “I’d like to find a peaceful resolution to all this. For Lucifer, for the Devildom, and for the human world as well. Personally, I’d like to be able to have a proper, face-to-face talk with Lucifer.”

Charlie crossed her arms and studied his face before replying, “No offense but you don’t really seem like the ‘talk it out’ type.”

Belphie sighed, “Sure, we may have had a falling out, but really, it was only a little misunderstanding. If I could just talk to him, he’d realize that was the case.”

He leaned forward, pressing against the bars of the door, “I need to find some way to get out of here, find Lucifer, and have a talk with him. That’s all I want.”

Pleading violet eyes bore into Charlie as he finished with, “And that’s the truth. You understand, right?”

Charlie stared back at him. She took a deep breath, her chest filled with fire. She was tired of being jerked around like this. “I can’t trust you.”

Belphagor looked back at her with a stern expression, “Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that everything I’ve told you is the truth.”

Charlie sneered at him as he said, “You’re the  **only** person I can count on to help me now.”

Charlie narrowed her eyes and replied, “If you’re counting on me to save you, you should recheck your math.”

Belphie grinned in dark amusement, “If you reconsider and decide you want to help, come back here. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Charlie looked him over one last time before turning and making her way back down the stairs.

When she returned to Beel’s room, she found the Avatar of Gluttony sitting on the couch with a bag of chips. He looked up as she came in and nodded silently at her. Charlie returned the nod, happy for his quiet nature as she made her way to the bed under the sun decor. She sat cross legged and wrapped herself in the massive sheets so that only her face was showing. 

There was a snort from the direction of the couch. Charlie looked over to find Beelzebub grinning over at her. She pouted at him before sticking her tongue out and flopping over onto the pillow. There was silence for a moment before the sound of footsteps approached. Charlie looked up at the massive looming shape of Beel. “You know, there is a point where you look so large it’s no longer intimidating. It’s just absurd. I think we’ve reached that point.”

He chuckled and sat on the bed, “Better?”

Charlie sat up and nodded, “Better.”

Beel tilted his head, “You look like a meringue with the blanket like that…”

She blinked and then burst out giggling, “Thank you? Please don’t eat me though!”

Beel smiled in return, “That’s better”

Charlie looked up at him quizzically. He stared at her for a moment with an odd expression before looking away, “You’ve been really on edge recently. More so than usual.”

She looked down at the bed, “Ah… you noticed as well, huh?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what happened that could have been so bad - you weren’t even phased when a demon slammed you into a wall - but I prefer it when you’re happy.”

Charlie looked up to meet his eyes. There it was again, the need to tell someone. She took a shuddered breath and looked away. Slowly, she began to speak, “Fighting… doesn’t bother me. I have a high physical pain tolerance. But recently I had… something remind me of… some really difficult stuff I went through. It was years ago… and it won’t ever happen again…”

She looked back up at him. He was staring at her with a gentle but intense gaze. She mustered a half-smile as she continued, “But it left some… some pretty deep scars.”

Beel searched her face for a moment before nodding, “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But…”

He trailed off as he stood. Charlie immediately missed his presence on the bed. He reached up and rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his already messy hair further as he said, “I get it.”

Beel turned as he noticed a warm light behind him. He gaped as he found Charlie beaming up at him with a gentle, warm smile - radiating the pure light. She tilted her head and replied, “Thank you, Beelzebub.”

He felt the color rise in his cheeks as he turned and grunted in return before making his way back to the couch. Charlie flopped over onto the couch and closed her eyes, happily falling into a peaceful slumber surrounded by the scent of Beel’s cologne and shampoo.

  
  


_ The sun was just beginning to rise. She could see the streaks of sunlight filtering through the blinds onto the white wall across from her. Strong arms pulled her back into a large, warm frame. The smell of Beel’s cologne and shampoo filled her nose and she relaxed into the embrace. A chin rested on the top of her head and she felt small and safe. A deep rumbling chuckle filled her ears but the voice that followed made her blood run cold. _

_ “You’re awfully snuggly today, Char-bear” _

_ Charlie tore herself out of the arms and rolled off the bed, spinning to face him. Those stormy grey eyes looked back at her from an all too familiar life-worn face. He stood in the darkness before her, running a large hand through his dirty blonde hair with that lopsided grin on his unshaven face, “C’mon, Charlie. Stop being ridiculous and let’s go home.” _

_ “Fuck you!”  _

_ She could feel the cold rain pelting her face as she clenched her fists, “I’m not doing this anymore, Craig! You PROMISED ME! You SWORE!” _

_ His eyes bore through her. She could tell he was searching - always searching - for that chink in her armor. A sad expression crossed his face as he said, “Char-bear… I’m sorry. It was the last time. I promise, baby. Please, come home. You know I need you.” _

_ “LIAR! EVERY TIME IS THE LAST  _ **_FUCKING_ ** _ TIME! TELL ME THE FUCKING TRUTH!” _

_ A cruel smile twisted onto his face as his eyes shifted to a vivid violet color, “The truth?” _

_ He disappeared and Charlie spun, her heart racing. Suddenly, she found herself face to face with those violet eyes, just beyond a set of iron bars. Belphegor smiled slyly out at her as Craig’s voice fell from his mouth, “The truth is you will never be rid of me, Charlie. I’m inside of you. Buried underneath your skin.” _

_ She took a step back, fear gripping her. “Shut up…” _

_ Charlie spun again to run when a hand caught her throat, slamming her up against a wall behind her. She reached up - clawing at the black hand squeezing the air from her as the inky demon’s jagged mouth split open, Craig’s voice continuing, “Was it worth it? Playing the hero? Is it just in your blood to be a righteous punching bag?” _

_ She coughed out, “Shut... up!” _

_ The demon disappeared and Charlie fell to her knees, coughing. She coughed and spun, a familiar voice humming through the darkness. Charlie gasped as her mother’s face appeared directly in front of her. A gentle smile on her face as Craig’s voice echoed from her lips, “Or were you just so desperate not to become your mother that you would rather let me tear you apart?” _

_ Hot tears streamed down Charlie’s face, stinging her swollen black eye. She could taste the blood from her busted lip as she roared, “ _ **_SHUT THE FUCK UP!_ ** _ ” and swung her fist towards the now grinning face of Craig. _

Charlie fell over the side of the bed, pulled by the momentum of her fist. She shot to her feet, searching the room frantically as she panted for air. Her heart was pounding in her chest and a cold sweat covered her body. Slowly, she began to realize that she was alone and her breathing slowed. She brought a shaky hand up to her face to wipe the wet streaks from her cheeks.

_ It was just a dream. A twisted, fucked up dream. _

  
  


Her eyes drifted over to the couch to find Beelzebub was absent. With a deep breath, she ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. With another long, slow breath she whispered to herself, “He doesn’t have the power anymore. He’s not here. You’re okay. On the count of ten you will be okay.”

She breathed slowly, bringing her hands to clasp in front of her chest,

_ 1… 2… 3… 4… _

She began slowly massaging the center of her palm with her thumb, letting the silence in the room wash over her,

_ 5… 6… 7… 8… 9… _

She opened her eyes and took one last deep breath. She filled her chest with the cool air and let it out slowly, no longer shaking.

_...10. _

Charlie turned and walked over to the bag of clothes, pulling out her outfit for the day before making her way to the bathroom. After a quick shower and the barest minimum of effort styling her hair, she dressed and looked in the mirror. In her mind’s eye she could see the hand-prints on her arms, the bite marks on her neck, the black eye and bloody lip, and the torn clothing hanging from her body. She closed her eyes and shook her head before lifting her head and turning, stalking towards the door.

_ I’m okay, now. It won’t happen again… never again. _

As she wandered down the stairs, Charlie decided that she didn’t quite feel like facing the boys just yet. Instead, she figured she could go spend some quiet time alone. Absently, she made her way toward the planetarium, hoping to find peace in the quiet, starry atmosphere. 

As Charlie approached, however, she saw two figures already occupying the space. Charlie ducked behind the doorframe hoping they wouldn’t see her. Lucifer and Beelzebub stood facing each other and the air felt tense. Charlie glanced at the gentle giant’s face and felt her heart wrench as he said, “I haven’t heard anything from Belphie up in the human world.”

Lucifer looked to the side, obviously not wanting to have this conversation, “He’s probably been busy. The life of an exchange student is a busy one.”

_ 10/10 can confirm. _

Beel’s expression gained a hint of annoyance, “Belphie was against the whole idea of the exchange program from the start. I know he didn’t want to go to the human world of all places.”

Charlie leaned against the doorjamb, her focus on the Avatar of Gluttony. Beelzebub looked so sad… deeper than just missing a sibling.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms defensively, “No, I don’t imagine he did.”

Beelzebub glared at his older brother in annoyance, “Come on, Lucifer. You have to forgive Belphie.”

He ducked his head as he added, “If you insist on sending an exchange student to the human world, I’ll go instead. So could you let Belphie come back here to the Devildom?”

Lucifer’s voice was stern and cold as he declared, “No.”

The desperation on Beel’s face tore at Charlie’s heart as he pleaded, “But-”

Lucifer cut him off, “You understand Diavolo’s dream, don’t you?”

Beel sighed heavily and lowered his eyes. He seemed to be reciting from a lecture he’d heard too many times, “For angels, demons, and humans to recognize, accept, and respect one another. And to create a new world together.”

Lucifer nodded emphatically and beamed with pride. Charlie glared at him angrily as he replied, “Exactly. The first step toward that goal is this exchange program.”

He frowned as he emphasized, “But Belphegor  **opposed** it. I will eliminate  **anyone** who tries to stand in the way of Diavolo’s dream, no matter who they might be. Even if it’s my own brother.”

Charlie turned away, a sour feeling in her stomach. She couldn’t even stand to look at Lucifer right now. She had thought that his cold demeanor was the result of being the responsible older sibling - something she could easily relate to. But this… this callous ambition. She despised it.

  
“So he can’t manage to answer, eh? That’s just like Beel…”

Charlie jumped and gasped, looking up to find Mammon standing directly in front of her looking past the door to the other demons. At her startled reaction, he turned his attention to the human and pouted, “What? Don’t look at me like that. You were eavedroppin’ on them too. You tryin’ to tell me that it’s okay for  **you** to do it, but not  **me** ?”

Charlie shook her head as he placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the doorway as he glanced past her, “If we stay here too long, eventually Lucifer is gonna find us. Come on, let’s head over that way.”

Mammon led her into the empty dining room and released the shoulder he’d been holding the entire way. Charlie looked up at the Avatar of Greed and felt a sudden comfort in his presence. He was dumb - so very dumb - sure, but he knew things she didn’t. And she hoped that he would be able to shed some light onto the familial drama playing out before her.

So, excluding everything about the visits to the attic, Charlie told him everything she had learned. Mammon just listened, hands on his hips and head tilted curiously. As she finished, he appeared mildly impressed, “Huh. So, Beel told you about Belphie and Lilith, did he?”

A grin covered his face as he continued, “I’ve gotta say, gettin’ Beel to tell you about Belphie  **and** Lilith… for a human, you’ve done good! I gotta hand it to ya!”

Charlie blushed at the sincerity of the compliment. Mammon closed his eyes and sighed, “Anyway, how do I explain this? So, we were all actually angels up in the Celestial Realm before we fell from grace, so to speak.”

Charlie stared - dumbstruck - trying to imagine Mammon as an angel. The demon in question seemed to gain a nostalgic tone to his voice as he continued, “Back then, Lucifer was especially fond of Beel, Belphie and Lilith. He  **loved** those three. But,” his expression fell, “things changed after we ended up in the Devildom.”

He shrugged and let out an annoyed sigh, “Lucifer is such a super-serious guy and all, so after pledging loyalty to Lord Diavolo, he always put Diavolo’s desires first from that point on, no matter what.”

Mammon’s annoyance grew to aggravation, “He does it even when it’s something he doesn’t agree with, ya know? I mean, seriously, would it kill him to be a little flexible sometimes?”

Charlie marveled at the duality of Mammon. He was so dumb but so insightful at the same time. Especially when it came to his brothers. To be honest, she hadn’t expected him to pay that much attention to another living thing - only to money. 

_ God, he really is an endearing idiot, isn’t he? He loves his brothers so much… _

“But anyway, that’s what brought this on. When Lord Diavolo suggested this exchange program thing, and Belphie opposed it, Lucifer wouldn’t listen to a thing Belphie said. He just sent him straight up to the human world, and that was that.”

Mammon tilted his head and sighed, “I mean, I’m not sayin’ that Belphie would’ve convinced him of anything even if he’d taken the time to listen. But still… if the two of them would’ve talked it out, I can’t help thinkin’ things would’ve turned out different.”

Charlie nodded in agreement as a look of shocked realization crossed Mammon’s face, “Whoa, did ya hear that?! I just somethin’ kinda awesome there, didn’t I?! It’s not often I do that!”

Charlie couldn’t help but giggle as he exclaimed, “Way to go, me! MAN I’m’ amazing! Hey, come on, I think I deserve some praise here! And while you’re at it, how about ya show a little reverence, too!”

Charlie burst out into a fit of laughter at his self-aggrandizing. Mammon pouted at her, “Hey, come on! Are you even listening to anything I’m sayin’ here? Don’t ignore me!”

Charlie reached up and wiped a tear from her eyes, beaming up at Mammon warmly. He blushed as she said, “You’re the best, Mammon! Thank you. I needed that.”

He looked away, turning bright red, “W-well of course I am! An-and d-don’t you forget it! Ya hear me?”

She grinned as she reached up and ruffled his hair, “Never!”

  
  
  


Charlie stood at the foot of the spiral stairs, looking up towards the attic. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulder, ascending slowly. Each heavy step mirrored her thudding heartbeat. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to deal with this. But even as she walked, Beelzebub and Mammon flashed through her mind. Their warm nostalgic expressions, their pensive and despairing eyes, their gentle kindness - awkward but soft.

As she reached the top step, she could already see the figure leaning against the door, “Well,” he smiled, though surprise was evident in his eyes, “this certainly is unexpected. It’s only been a day, and already you’re back.” 

He tilted his head, his violet eyes gazing through her as she approached the door, “I thought it would be longer before you returned, if you ever did at all.”

His careless smirk grew into a lazy grin, “So, I take it you’ve decided to  **help** me?”

Charlie inhaled sharply at the statement as he continued, “I have to wonder, though. What was it that changed your mind?”

Charlie looked back towards the stairs, her chest squeezing briefly as she croaked, “I’m doing this for Beelzebub.”

She could feel Belphie’s intense gaze linger on her for a moment. She turned to meet it to find him with a similar nostalgic smile on his face, “For Beel? I see…”

The smile quickly faded - replaced by a cool expression - as he shrugged and continued, “Well, no matter what your reason is, this works out well for me. So I’m fine with it.”

His eyes glinted dangerously as his tone became sharper, “Now, I’ll say this as many times as I have to, because it’s important: You  **can’t** tell my other brothers anything about this. They have to keep believing that I’m up in the human world as an exchange student.”

Charlie crossed her arms and scoffed, “Fine.”

Belphie fixed her with a venomous glare and Charlie held her arms out, “ **Fine** !”

He narrowed his eyes at her before he seemed satisfied, “Now, if you’re got that, then go ahead and go back to your room.”

_ Since when are you the fucking boss of me?! _

Charlie glared at him for a moment before she turned to leave. After a step, he called out, “Actually, wait a minute. There’s something important I still haven’t said,”

Charlie turned and looked back over her shoulder irately. This kid definitely had youngest sibling disease and it was getting on her nerves.

Belphie met her eyes for a second before looking down bashfully, “I… really do appreciate your help. Honestly.”

Charlie was taken aback by the sudden sincerity. 

_ Whiplash. The whole family is nothing but walking whiplash. _

“If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve been trapped up here for who knows how long. So I want you to know… I’m grateful.”

He offered her a gentle smile that broke her heart as he said, “Thank you, Charlie”

Her chest tightened and she couldn’t think of anything to say. So, she nodded awkwardly and turned, making her way down the stairs.

_ Well…. That’s definitely not something Craig ever- NO! Stop it! _

Charlie reached the bottom of the stairs as her phone started buzzing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments! I appreciate your support so much!


End file.
